Ravi Shastri makes the boys feel like a million dollars even when they are down: India fielding coach R Sridhar
India's fielding coach R Sridhar explained how the head coach's words of wisdom helped the team turn their fortunes around in the Australia Test series after the 36-all out in Adelaide.
In Short
- Fielding coach R Sridhar hailed coach Ravi Shastri's influence on the Indian team players
- Shastri is being hailed in the cricketing fraternity for helping turn India's fortunes around in Australia
- India won the Tests in Melbourne and Brisbane to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Team India fielding coach R Sridhar on Friday pointed out the role that head coach Ravi Shastri played in motivating the players during the just-concluded Border-Gavaskar series.
Shastri is being hailed in the cricketing fraternity for helping India bounce back from the 1st Test defeat to clinch the series 2-1 after two superb wins in Melbourne and Brisbane.
Hailing Shastri's influence on the players, Sridhar explained how the former India all-rounder's words of wisdom helped India turn their fortunes around after the 36-all out in Adelaide.
"Ravi (Shastri) has done a lot for the Indian cricket team and it shouldn’t take one of the greatest Test series ever to literally credit Ravi Shastri for Indian cricket. He has done a lot before that and all of this led to this (victory).
"He has been saying this from 2017, to take the pitch out of the equation, every ground is your homeground. He has been saying that in our dressing room, and I am sure he has said that in the media a few times. Like a parody he has been repeating that for the last 4-5 years. It took all the five years of repeating it to go to Gabba and play there as if it was our home turf, right in Australia’s backyard.
"Two words that come to mind with Ravi being at the helm for the last 5-6 years is, fearless and honest. He said, no matter what you have to be fearless and honest on the ground. These are the two words that resonate and reverberate with Ravi around. He makes the boys feel like a million dollars even if they are not having the best of the series.
"He backs them when he goes and talks to them. Yes he is also a normal human being and therefore gets angry when things don’t go well, but to bring that fearless into this young new generation of players, that is totally what Ravi Shastri has done," Sridhar said on Sports Today.
India, led by stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane, rode on superb knocks from Shubman Gill (91), Rishabh Pant (89 not out) and Cheteshwar Pujara (56) to pull off the highest successful run chase in Brisbane as they gunned down the target of 328 on Day 5 to win the series-deciding fourth Test by 3 wickets and become the first team in 32 years to beat Australia at the Gabba on Tuesday.
They had won by 8 wickets in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG last month to level the equation before salvaging a hard-fought draw in the third match in Sydney.