Ravi Shastri To Become England Coach? He Answers | Cricket News

Ravi Shastri spoke at length about his chances of joining the England team as the head coach in an interview with the Guardian, adding that picking Ben Stokes as the captain of the Test side might fire him up even more.

Mumbai: Former India men’s cricket team chief coach Ravi Shastri in an interview by The Guardian, said that coaching India comes at a price with 1.4 billion people judging you all the time and it does take a toll, adding that it is a full-time job with 300 days a year’s duty and staying there for seven years was quite challenging in its own way.

“Oh no, no, don’t go down that route. Seven years with India — a full-time job, 300 days a year, 1.4 billion people judging you every day — that takes its toll. Good luck to anyone who lasts that long.” Shastri said when asked if he would be interested in filling the vacant England post.

With Joe Root giving up the Test captaincy for England, many are vouching for England all-rounder Ben Stokes to take up the job. The former India coach reckons that captaincy can fire up Stokes, even more, to give a better performance on the field.

“The adrenaline of captaincy — not that he needs it — could fire Stokes up to be something even more than the incredible player he is now. The important relationship is with the captain — the moment there is friction, things go downhill. 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,” reckons Shastri.

Adding that there is no substitute for experience, Shastri has no doubt in his mind that James Anderson and Stuart Broad should be a regular in the Test side for England. The most successful England bowling pair has aggregated 1177 Test wickets so far.

“Test cricket is the purest form of the game and, if the guys are fit, hungry, you jolly well look in that direction. Every country makes this mistake, looking too far ahead. It’s too easy to look 100ft away and lose the plot by not backing the guys who have been there and done it,” said the 59-year-old.