We made a lot of mistakes on England tour, says Ravi Shastri

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk,SportsCafe Editor

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Ravi Shastri admitted that the Virat Kohli & Co. made a lot of mistakes on the tour of England last year which saw the visitors in the ODI series and in the Test series as well. However, Shastri heaped praise on the current Indian squad which he opines is the best Indian side of all time.

The Indian cricket team that traveled to England last year with high hopes as they aimed to pull off a rare win on English soil. However, they soon realized that their dreams were in jeopardy as they were beaten in both, the Test and ODI series, while they managed to draw the T20I series. There were many occasions during the tour where the visitors asserted their dominance but failed to capitalize on the opportunities that presented itself.

India coach, Ravi Shastri, admitted that Virat Kohli & Co. made a lot of mistakes during the tour but added that that turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the young squad. Shastri added that during any tour there are always things that work out in your favor and some that will not.

"We made a lot of mistakes on that England tour. Mistakes like not seizing the important moments, ability to lose Test matches within one session with some hara-kiri and allowing the pressure to get to you. So, the learning was how do you absorb the pressure and respond if you are in a similar position. Those are the things we had discussed.

"We lost 86-6, 87-7 and then 130-7 at The Oval again. Also, we didn't have luck all the time either. For example, when the whole world knew Jos Buttler was out leg before (at The Oval) but snickometer showed that there was a nick. It changes the course of a match.

"Take for example, Perth Test, Virat Kohli's catch (claimed by Peter Handscomb). I have been a broadcaster. I would have said not out straightaway. We had two decisions in South Africa reversed. These are things that are not under your control. But we are not here to give excuses. That's the one thing this team has learnt. In four years, there have been no excuses and no pointing fingers. You either win or you lose. If you lose you lose because you f****d (messed) up. Accept that. Only then will you learn from your mistakes and come back better to play better cricket," Shastri said in a recent interview with Cricbuzz.

Shastri, who represented India in 121 Test matches back in his playing days, also went on to claim that the current Indian team under Kohli is the best Indian team ever ‘across all formats’. 

"I used the phrase 'across all formats'. When I said that the endeavour is to be the best travelling team in the world, six months ago people laughed at me. When I said this is the best travelling team in the world across all formats, they laughed. Today, they know, I wasn't speaking French.

"We hadn't been to South Africa before (under me), but to go there and beat them 5-1 after 25 years (in ODIs). Before that, we had won 3-1 in England (2014 in ODIs) and we won a T20I series in Australia 3-0 (2016).

"What this team has done is taken that word 'overseas' and shoved it into a bin. These players can shove it into the bin for as long as they play cricket. In four years, they have won more in overseas cricket than any other Indian team, across all formats," Shastri added.

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