Ravi Shastri

India can bolster batting if Rahul keeps wickets in WTC final: Shastri

Former India coach Ravi Shastri has backed KL Rahul to seal his place as a wicketkeeper-batter for the World Test Championship final at The Oval in June, saying his presence will strengthen the team's batting lineup. Rahul has a good record in England but he was dropped from the playing XI after the first two Tests against Australia at home due to poor form. The 30-year-old from Karnataka, however, made an impressive return, slamming a match-winning 75 not out in the first ODI against Australia in Mumbai on Friday night. Shastri feels Rahul can play as a wicket-keeper in the WTC final, especially after KS Bharat couldn't produce the goods in the absence of an indisposed Rishabh Pant. "He (KL) has really done well to keep the selectors interested ahead of the WTC final," Shastri told Star Sports. "Two things, one for the ODI series when Rohit Sharma returns and the other for the WTC final... India can bolster their batting if Rahul can keep wickets. "Rahul can bat in the middle-or

This is what a little complacency, overconfidence can do: Ravi Shastri

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has slammed Rohit Sharma & Co for their nine-wicket loss to Australia in the third Test at Indore, pointing out that the defeat came due to a little bit of complacency and overconfidence.

India should aim for 4-0 win in Border-Gavaskar Trophy, says Ravi Shastri

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes the Rohit Sharma-led side should have the mindset to win 4-0 over top-ranked Test team Australia in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Gill should get nod, vice-captains shouldn't be automatic choice: Shastri

Former India coach Ravi Shastri wants in-form batter Shubman Gill to be in the playing XI ahead of vice-captain KL Rahul in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar series, beginning in Nagpur on Thursday. The former India all-rounder also said vice-captaincy should not guarantee one a place in the playing eleven if someone like Gill is hitting the sweet spot with monotonous regularity in white-ball cricket. Picking his XI for the opening game of the four-Test series, Shastri also said no one comes close to Suryakumar Yadav at No.5, and the middle-order T20I batter should get his preferred position in the series. "Shubman or Rahul (selection) depends on the team management, what they think. Obviously, you'd want to go with what you've been doing in the past, but form becomes critical. "Someone's hitting it real sweet and it's coming out of the centre of the bat. Then, you know, you wake up, and say, 'listen'," Shastri said on the ICC Review on Wednesday. "I've been watching Gill an

Indian cricketers 'absolutely fine' playing IPL, domestic cricket: Shastri

Former India left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan concurred with Shastri's thoughts and felt that he doesn't see any reason for the current cricketers to play in a particular T20 league

Duleep trophy incident highlights the very masculine art of sledging

West Zone captain Rahane sent his teammate to the dressing room because of sledging at a recent match

Pant's shot-selection in India's Super Four defeat to Pak under scanner

Pant was also seen explaining to the India skipper his reasoning behind playing that shot

Keep Test cricket to top six teams; respect quality over quantity: Shastri

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri stated that Test cricket should be restricted to only the top six teams in the format.

Ravi Shastri calls for organising fewer T20Is to counter scheduling issues

The month of July 2022 has seen the issue of hectic scheduling in cricket and prioritisation of franchise T20 leagues being reignited

India were defensive and timid on day 4, says former coach Ravi Shastri

India's "timid" and "defensive" batting approach in their second innings allowed England to make a comeback in the rescheduled fifth Test on the fourth day, reckons former chief coach Ravi Shastri

No one remembers bilateral T20 series, play shortest format in WC: Shastri

Shastri, whose tenure as India coach ended last year, said he doesn't "remember a single (T20) game in the last six-seven years as coach of India, barring the World Cup."

IPL 2022: Rishabh Pant should bat in 'Russell mode', suggests Ravi Shastri

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has suggested that Rishabh Pant should not think much and bat in the Andre Russell "mode" if the wicket-keeper batter wants to get the best out of himself and help Delhi Capitals in the ongoing IPL 2022 season.

Virat Kohli is 'mentally' overcooked, needs a break, says Ravi Shastri

Batting stalwart Virat Kohli is mentally "overcooked" and needs to take a break from cricket in order to serve the country for at least another six-seven years, feels ex-India coach Ravi Shastri. Kohli has been going through a lean patch with just two 40-plus scores to show in last seven innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the current IPL season. The 33-year-old from Delhi, who hasn't scored a century in the last 100 matches across formats, had stepped down from T20 captaincy both for India and RCB and also quit Test leadership, while he was removed from ODI skipper's role. Shastri feels the likes of Kohli needs to be handled with care and empathy amid the COVID-19 restrictions which has confined players inside bio-bubbles. "I am going straight to the main guy here. Virat Kohli is overcooked. If anyone needs a break, it's him," Shastri told Star Sports. "Whether it's 2 months or a month-and-a-half, whether it's after England or before England. He needs a break because he ha

After Chahal's revelation, Ravi Shastri proposes life ban for offender

Taking exception to Yuzvendra Chahal's allegations of physical harassment by a player in his early IPL days, Shastri suggested that the offender be never allowed to come near a cricket field.

Giving up of captaincy might be a blessing in disguise for Kohli: Shastri

Former India coach Ravi Shastri said that relinquishing the captaincy may make Virat Kohli start playing more freely now and it might be a blessing in disguise for the prolific batting star.

Former Team India coach Ravi Shastri launches cricket academy in Hyderabad

Shastri also inaugurated St John's Sports Foundation at the launching event of the cricket academy.

Virat is like beast on field, he wants to compete, says Ravi Shastri

Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has termed Virat Kohli a "beast" on the field but said the former skipper is totally opposite when he is not playing the game.

Skipper, coach should have a say in team selection: Ravi Shastri

Shastri said the coach should be in the meeting when a particular team is being picked for a tour

Captain and coach should have a say in team selection, says Shastri

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes that the coach and the captain should have a say in the national team selection. A captain sits in the selection committee to give his inputs but decision making power lies with the five-member selection panel while the coach doesn't have a seat on the table. "I think it is extremely important that the captain and the coach should have a say in team selection. I think going forward, both should officially have a say. Especially if the coach is experienced enough, like I was and now how Rahul (Dravid) is," Shastri told Star Sports. Head coach is part of selection panel in Australia and England. According to Shastri, himself a former India all-rounder and former Mumbai captain, the skipper must get to see the mindsets of the selectors. "It should happen in a meeting - not on the phone or outside - where the captain is there, so that he gets to see the mindsets of the selectors. "What happens in the meeting when the convenor is there, al

'Right way to go': Former Team India coach Shastri backs split captaincy

Former India coach Ravi Shastri has supported the splitting of captaincy in the red and white ball formats, saying it is the right way to go. While Virat Kohli remains the Test skipper, one of the finest white-ball exponents and star opener, Rohit Sharma has been appointed as the T20 and ODI captain. "I think it's the right way to go. This could be a blessing in disguise for Virat, and for Rohit, because I don't think in this era if the bubble life exists for another year or so, one guy can handle all, that is not easy at all," Shastri, himself a former India all-rounder, said on Star Sports show 'BOLD & BRAVE: THE SHASTRI WAY'. Kohli, during his pre-departure press conference ahead of the tour of South Africa, said that he was never asked to stay on as T20 skipper when he made his intent clear on relinquishing the post. Shastri, who has served Indian cricket in various capacities, also said he wanted to establish Rohit as an opener. "It was very clear in my mind that I wanted to