Cricket News By TODAYLIVESCORE.INFO - Rahul Dravid has inherited a great team: Ravi Shastri. "Sometimes in life, it's not about what you accomplish, it's what you overcome"
"Sometimes in life, it's not about what you accomplish, it's what you overcome"
Outgoing head coach Ravi Shastri stated he's happy with his achievements with the Indian team, acknowledging that he'd left the side in a better place than when he took over despite the disappointments of this T20 WC.
Shastri's latest stint as the head coach of the side began in mid-2017 and while an ICC title may have eluded him, on his watch, India extended their dominance across formats, reaching the final of the inaugural World Test Championship as well as winning ODI and T20I series in every country they played in.
“When I took this job, I said in my mind I want to make a difference. And I think I have,” Shastri told Star Sports ahead of his final game as head coach of this team.
“Sometimes in life, it's not about what you accomplish, it's what you overcome. And what these guys have overcome in the last five years, the way they've travelled across the globe and performed in every corner of the globe in all formats of the game will make this – irrespective of what's happened here – as one of the great team's in the history of the game. I have absolutely no doubts in my mind.”
Shastri cited the team's achievements in red-ball cricket, which include two series wins in Australia, as the high points of his tenure. “I think across all formats there would be plenty, but winning in red-ball cricket in WI, SL, Australia… in England we're leading the series – it could be the longest lead in the history of cricket because the next Test is next year. I'll take that, I'll settle for that for 12 months.
“But to go across and beat all these sides and every team in white ball cricket – whether its 20-20 or 50-over we've beaten sides in their den, which was my endeavour and the team's endeavour. Because you're always labelled as big bullies at home, but when you have to travel outside you didn't have the goods. But this team has shown they have more and plenty of that. “
Shastri will be succeeded at the post by former India captain Rahul Dravid, who the outgoing coach believes has the right ingredients without any fear of a transition period to push the team to greater heights. “Absolutely. I think in Rahul Dravid they've got a guy I would say has inherited a great team, and with his statute and experience, he can only raise the bar for this team with time to come,” Shastri said.
“Because there are still a lot of players here who will play for another 3-4 years which is very important. It's not a team in transition overnight and that will make the biggest difference. Virat's still there, he's done a fantastic job as the leader of the side. He's been one of the biggest and the best ambassadors of Test match cricket over the last five years. Lot of credit goes to him, in the way he's thought about how he wants the team to play the game and how the team has rallied around him. “
Addressing the disappointment of the T20 WC, the first ICC event since 2012 that India have failed to progress to the knockouts in, Shastri opined that a longer gap between the IPL and the World Cup may have helped address the fatigue problem that has been cited as reason for India's underwhelming performance.
“I think first of all it is rest,” Shastri said about the biggest learning from the tournament. “I am drained mentally but I expect that at my age. These guys are physically and mentally drained. Six months in a bubble and then what would've ideally liked was a bigger gap between the IPL and the World Cup.
“It's when the big games come… when the pressure hits you, you're not as switched on as you should be. It's not an excuse. We take defeat because we're not scared of losing because in trying to win, you will lose a game. Here we didn't try to win. Because that x-factor was missing. “
