"Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli wanted to put up a team that could win in all conditions" - Bharat Arun
Days before concluding his four-year stint as Team India's bowling coach, Bharat Arun reflected on the team's journey and the legacy that the iconic pair of captain Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri will leave behind.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Bharat Arun said Kohli and Shastri wanted to build a team that could win in all conditions.
He remarked that the journey required India to dig deep into its fast-bowling reserves and create a 'disciplined' and vigorous attack to complement the spin department.
Bharat Arun said:
"See I think, to begin with, Ravi and Virat got together and they wanted to put up a team that could win in all conditions. And in order to do so, it was important that we had a very balanced [squad]. Everybody knows that we had one of the best spin attacks in the world.
"It was also about creating another force that would compliment our [spin] bowling and suit in all conditions. So all of us came together to say, 'We have enough fast bowlers but we need to create a lot more discipline in their attack and also to make sure they remain fresh throughout.' That was the only chance of us winning."
2 test series wins in Australia,
T20 series win vs END (home & away),
T20 series win vs WI (home & away)
T20 series win vs NZ (home & away)
ODI series win in NZ
T20 & ODI series win in SA
Leading 2-1 in tests in Eng
Some achievements under Kohli & Shastri. End of a good period.
Bharat Arun also lauded Kohli and Shastri's decision to put their weight behind a five-bowler strategy.
He said the combined effort of the two and others in the team was what helped India win twice in Australia and almost clinch a truncated and postponed series in England.
The bowling coach said:
"And the team management and the captain took a very bold step of always playing five bowlers at any given point in time. I think that was the most positive move that happened.
"And that helped us to win three major series abroad - two were back to back in Australia and one we came very close to winning [in England]. It hangs in balance for the one Test match that remains. So I think it's a combined effort of everybody put together that has created this force and I think this legacy will carry on."
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were always good enough to win home Tests for India. But Ravi Shastri and Bharat Arun's stints saw the emergence of new fast-bowling blood in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur.
It also saw a resurgence in sharpness in the old guard of Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav, which made the team an equally potent force in overseas conditions.
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"Team in a much better position than when we started" - Bharat Arun
🗣️ 🗣️: B. Arun reflects on the learnings and journey as #TeamIndia Bowling Coach. 👍
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Bharat Arun called his own tenure an 'outstanding' one despite the ups and downs.
He said that when he joined, the team's focus was to win Test matches overseas, which they were able to achieve, adding that the Men in Blue are in a "much better position" than four years ago.
"I think it's been a great journey for me. It's been an outstanding journey. There have been ups and downs but I think the team is in a much better position than what it was when we started. Pretty happy about it... We set about winning a lot of Test matches overseas, that's what we strived hard to achieve as a team. We went about achieving that."
While India achieved unparalleled heights in the longest format, the white-ball trophy cabinet remained untouched.
Bharat Arun's final shot at an ICC trophy also ended on Sunday when New Zealand defeated Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi to knock India out of contention for a semi-final spot in the T20 World Cup.