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Team India Director praises the coaching staff; reflects on Sri Lanka Test success
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Team India is going through an interesting phase. Since MS Dhoni’s retirement from Tests in Australia last year, a young team under the dynamic leadership of Virat Kohli has been fighting it out hard and fierce. The players are growing in experience and stature. Experienced ones, like Ishant Sharma and R Ashwin, have rediscovered themselves on the highest level. On the batting front, there is a problem of plenty. Batting positions are not carved in stone and flexibility has bred versatility.
Mentoring and managing a team in transition is no easy job. While striving for the perfect combination, there is a small matter of ensuring that the young minds remain uncluttered amidst the trial and errors. In this regards, Team India’s current coaching staff, led by Team Director, Ravi Shastri, and aptly manned by Bharat Arun (bowling coach), R Sridhar (fielding coach) and Sanjay Bangar (batting coach), has done a remarkable job. The sincere efforts put in by these gentlemen and the hard yards run by the players were reflected in the historic 2-1 Test series triumph in Sri Lanka.
It is no surprise that one year since their appointments, the roles of all the members of the coaching staff have been extended until the upcoming ICC World Twenty20.
In the wake of the announcement, channels spoke to Team Director, Ravi Shastri, about what has made this team of coaches click in the last year. The former India captain also reflected on the team’s impressive performance in the Emerald Isle. He opened up on Ishant Sharma’s aggression, R Ashwin’s brilliance and the constantly changing batting order.
Your term as been extended and it is easy to see why with the kind of impact you have had on the team. Personally, how satisfying has this role been for you compared to the various other roles you’ve played within the game?
It has given me immense job satisfaction. It has been the biggest challenge for me in all the years I have been involved in the game in whatever capacity. My willingness and desire to carry on in this role stems from the fact that I have got a great team with me – a great bunch of players and an amazing support staff.
The Sri Lanka series was a watershed moment for this young team. Would you say that it was the reflection of the efforts and hard work that the team and coaching staff have put in over the last year?
No question about that. These things don’t happen overnight. It is something that has to be inculcated in the system early on and be accepted by everyone in the team. When that starts sinking in and each member of the team has one uniformed thought process, you will start seeing the results. So, you’re absolutely right. The process started in Australia, continued in Bangladesh and carried on to Sri Lanka, as far as Test matches are concerned.
What does each member of the coaching staff – Bharat Arun, R Sridhar and Sanjay Bangar – bring to the table besides their expertise?
I would say just one thing for all of them. Apart from the expertise, there is experience. They have all come through the system. Someone like Bharat Arun, people would not have known. When he was first brought into the team, people would have asked, ‘Who’ and ‘Why’? Now they will stop on their track and say, ‘Why not earlier’? The same applies for Sridhar and Sanjay. The reason is that these guys have been through the grind. They have been involved in the system for many, many years and know all these players from under-19 stage. Arun, as a coach and manager, Sridhar as a coach and Sanjay as a player who has recently retired and so knows these players’ mindsets well. They connect with the players. The boys can confide in them and trust them. All these three men have been putting in honest efforts in doing everything they can to get the best out of the players.
The South Africa series is not far now. Based on the lessons learnt in Australia and the success in Sri Lanka, if you had to pick one aspect where the team will have to improve against SA, what would it be?
South Africa are the No. 1 team in the world. We have to play consistent cricket for long periods of time to put them under pressure. That will be the endeavour. Our style of play will not change. If you reflect on our performances in Australia and Sri Lanka, you will see that consistency was the difference between defeat and victory. Sustained brilliance will be the key against the Proteas.
By consistency you mean winning the key moments – something that the team learned the hard way in Australia and worked on in the second and third Tests in Sri Lanka?
Yes, that’s exactly what I am talking about. And that – not letting the opposition off the hook after having them under pressure – demands a lot of patience. We weren’t patient enough both in Australia and during the first Test in Sri Lanka. Once the patience and discipline came, in the next two Tests, we saw the results.
Can you talk a bit about Ishant? He bowled like a dream in Sri Lanka. What do you think has changed?
I think it was a big knock he had to take going home from the World Cup. It was an honest decision on his part that he wasn’t fit enough and at the same time it was a bitter pill to swallow. But with sacrifices like that come the good things. He rested well, trained extremely hard and understood his own technique and where he can improve. He bowled like a million dollars in Sri Lanka. And this is not the last of him. We will continue to see him bowl like that in the future, now that he has gained immense understanding of his bowling.
Given the form he is in, how much will the team miss him in the first Test against South Africa?
I know he has copped a lot of flak over the aggression and he will learn where to draw a line. But let me assure you, he has the backing of the entire team. I want him to be aggressive and I will be the first one to push him in that direction. But I will also mark the line. We will miss him for the first Test. He is our most experienced fast bowler. He bowled beautifully in Sri Lanka and is in the form of his life. With a little bit of luck, he could have picked 10 more wickets in that series.
What about Ashwin? The way he operated with the red Kookaburra in subcontinent conditions was a treat to watch. What according to you is the biggest secret behind his resurgence?
Ashwin was amazing in Sri Lanka. And that’s because he was patient and relaxed. For him to understand his own bowling and what the team needs off him was the need of the hour. And I think he has realized that. We know he has got the brain of an astronaut. He has combined that intelligence with calmness and patience now. That bodes well for us because now the astronaut’s mind is helping Team India take flight. For me Ashwin is the best off-spinner in the world at the moment. Nathan Lyon is a very good off-spinner but the variety this man can bring to the plate is unreal. The biggest testament to Ashwin’s brilliance was the way he bowled to Kumar Sangakkara. To stifle a class batsman like Sanga in his crease four times in a row was the mark of a world-class spinner who has realized that he is a world-class spinner.
There were a lot of forced and unforced changes in the batting order in the Sri Lanka Tests. With all three openers – Vijay, Shikhar and Rahul – in form, Ajinkya scoring runs at 3 and Pujara coming back in form, where does that leave the batting order?
That is the first sign of a good side in the making, where in spite of injuries you are prepared to be flexible. It is very clear within this team that no one owns any batting position, that you will do things according to the demands of the team and you will do it willingly. That has come across beautifully with each player. Cheteshwar had to sit out a long time and then was asked to open the innings. Not for a moment did he complain or give any excuses, and the reward was there for everyone to see. Ajinkya Rahane was asked to go at 3 when we needed more stability after Shikhar’s injury. Rohit was asked to drop back. They both did it in the interest of the team and they scored runs. It is a case of doing things willingly for the team. These guys don’t think, ‘What if’? They say, ‘Why not’?
In the long run, don’t you think the constantly changing batting order would lead to confusion among players regarding their role in the team?
Not at all. When you have everyone fit and ready, the guys will be back in their normal positions. All the chop and change happened because we were encountered with so many injuries right through the series. What do you do then? You have to be flexible and people have to be prepared to do that. Having said that, even when everyone is fit, we will be flexible in deciding our batting order based on the conditions and the opposition. There are no hard and fast rules here. The good thing is that we have a captain who is prepared to lead from the front in all these areas. He is the kind of guy who will go and open the batting if the situation arises. And it will not have to come from anyone else. It will come from him. That kind of attitude spreads within the team.
Source: Bcci
