“Gang of people willing…”: Know What Ravi Shastri Said In London

From his own experience of working with the Indian team, Shastri feels that national teams across the cricketing world function in a pretty similar fashion.

New Delhi: In an interview with UK’s ‘The Guardian’ newspaper, Shastri said that there was a “gang of people in India” who always wanted him to fail. He said Robert Key will need to grow a “thick skin” akin to the Duke’s ball just like I grew one to counter the “jealous people”. Key is the new ‘Director of Cricket’ at ECB. Shastri was at the helm of India’s coaching staff between 2014 to 2021, save one year in the middle when Anil Kumble was given the charge.

Just like Shastri, Key has also been an acclaimed commentator for a long time and doesn’t have a coaching degree as he tries to ease into a new and very different role.

Skin thicker than leather

He said, “I didn’t have coaching badges [either]. Level one? Level two? **** that. And in a country like India, there is always jealousy or a gang of people willing you to fail. I had a thick skin, thicker than the leather of the Dukes ball you use. A real solid hide. And you need a bloody hide over here. Rob will develop this as he does the job, because every day you are judged. And I am glad he has a lot of captaincy experience from his time at Kent, because communication with the players is absolutely paramount.”

From his own experience of working with the Indian team, Shastri feels that national teams across the cricketing world function in a pretty similar fashion. He added, “Rob may have more work with the domestic game but, when it comes to the national team, it is very similar. The most important thing is getting among the players and setting a tone from the outset: what you believe in, what you think of them and changing the mindset to compete and win.”

Understand how it works from Joe Root

Shastri also feels that Key needs to discuss issues with former Test captain Joe Root to understand how it all works. He said, “Rob will have an adjustment period to understand the issues and will need to speak in detail with Joe Root for his experiences as Test captain. But in my 24 years [commentating], I did not miss a beat or a ball of Indian cricket.”

He expressed his optimism about the English cricket team saying, “But they will be fine because the England I saw last year, they have enough talent and skill to compete. There’s no doubt about that in my mind. It’s all about their mindset.”

(With PTI inputs)