The former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri has also served as the head coach of the Indian team and during his tenure, he might not have been able to help his team in lifting the ICC trophy but he certainly gave some great moments to cherish to Indian cricket fans.
One such moment was the India-Australia test series which was won by India after getting crushed in the Adelaide test match and to make matters worse, the Indian squad had to play without their best test batter, Virat Kohli who took paternity leave.
During the Sydney test match, which resulted in a draw due to heroics of Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant played a blistering knock of 97 runs before getting out. Ravi Shastri revealed how he cheered up Rishabh Pant who was sitting dejected in the dressing room.
While speaking on Ashwin’s YouTube show, Ravi Shastri said, “If I tell him don’t play [that particular shot] it, that’s against his nature. He might play it even more. I told him I getting bored, you are getting out in the same fashion.”
He further added, “It was to Nathan Lyon in Sydney when he batted brilliantly and got out at 97. He slogged one up there, came back [to the dressing room] and was sitting. And then the second new ball was taken and Pujji hit seven boundaries. So, when I went into the loo, he was still sitting in the dressing room all alone with his pads on. I looked at him and said, Pujji is scoring all your runs. Seven he’s hit. Yes. It’s Pujji, he’s hit seven boundaries in half an hour.”
Ravi Shastri explained, “Then I said, ‘You are boring me yaar, hit reverse. You are getting out like this only no, aur Khatarnak fashion mein out hoja [get out in weirder manner]. And he said, ‘Ye hui naa baat’.”
Shastri added, “Their mindset is completely different from someone else. I can’t go to Pujji and tell him to hit a reverse sweep. I have to ask him to just carry on. And that he has shown on multiple tours.”
Well, Shastri was certainly one of the best when it comes to his job as the head coach.
