"It shouldn't take a win of this magnitude to recognize Ravi Shastri's contribution to Indian cricket" - R Sridhar
R Sridhar has extolled head coach Ravi Shastri's contribution to the Indian team and its individual players.
The fielding coach remarked that Shastri's inputs have always been 'invaluable' to the team and India's series victory in Australia has only highlighted his importance.
Ravi Shastri was heavily chastised by Indian fans after the batting lineup was shot out for 36 in the first Test. However, the potshots soon turned into compliments when India pulled off a staggering 2-1 series win at the Gabba, and Shastri was lauded for bringing the best out of an inexperienced team.
Interacting with CricketNext, Sridhar commended Shastri's acumen and plain-speak nature.
"I can go on and on and on about what Shastri has done just in his tenure as coach... it shouldn't take a win of this magnitude to recognise Ravi Shastri's contribution to Indian cricket. He has been at every step to develop Indian cricket... Shastri has done a lot for players. People just fail to see... all this is overshadowed by idiotic trolls that come. Ravi Shastri doesn't care one bit what people write about him or think about him. With Ravi Shastri, what you see is what you get. This is not the first series where his inputs have been invaluable to the Indian team. He's always been one of the best observers, it's outstanding," said Sridhar.
The 50-year-old further explained:
"It's just that it has come to the fore in this series because the result is extraordinary and history has been achieved especially at the Gabba. He has been one guy who has always backed the players, made them feel good and given very very inputs."
Many players including Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar have openly talked about how Shastri helped them perform better during the series.
How Ravi Shastri helped Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari with their batting issues
R Sridhar narrated specific examples, of skipper Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari, to explain how Ravi Shastri helped them overcome technical glitches in their batting.
"So many times he has given inputs about where to stand for batsmen, how to counter angles, which guard to take for which bowler... Virat has openly admitted once that Shastri asked him to stand a few steps in front of the crease. Vihari too said Shastri made subtle changes that helped him play well in West Indies. So many batters have benefited," said Sridhar.
"We all praise Pujara. In Birmingham, Pujara had technical issues. He was rested for one match. Everyday he took Pujara to the nets, worked on his stance and everything. Pujara played from the next Test and he went on to get a century in Southampton," he added.
Ravi Shastri had labeled India's series win in Australia in 2018 a bigger achievement than the 1983 World Cup victory.
Now that India has repeated the feat in 2020 without many key players and against Australia's best side, Shastri certainly deserves some bouquets from those who usually throw stones.