Ravi Shastri Vows to Learn From Mistakes:- “Nobody’s Perfect”

Ravi Shastri has officially been re-appointed as the Head Coach of India. In a recent interview with bcci.tv, he said that he would take team India’s consistency to another level in his next stint. Apart from Shastri, there were other five shortlisted candidates were interviewed by the CAC. They were, Mike Hesson, Tom Moody, Robin Singh and Lalchand Rajput. However, Ravi Shastri was the frontrunner for this post.

“I first like to thank the CAC — Shantha, Kapil and Anshu — for having the faith in me to let me continue for another 26 months,” Ravi Shastri said.

“It’s a privilege and honour to be part of an Indian team setup. The reason why I came in was I had the belief in this team… belief that this team can leave a legacy that very few teams have in the past. Not just for the moment they’re playing… you know the kind of legacy… going down the line other teams would try and emulate,” the head coach further added.

“That is the desire. We are on track. There is always room for improvement. With youth coming into the set-up, it’s going to be very exciting.”

Ravi Shastri was expected to retain the post as India captain Virat Kohli backed him openly. “My endeavour would be to leave the team at a happier place”.

“You have got to learn from your mistakes. Nobody is perfect. When you strive for excellence and you strive to raise to the bar day in, day out, you have got to pay attention to details. When you mess up or when have an off day.. don’t let that day go by. We have got to make sure we are focussing and concentrating on how we can get over that barrier. That will be the endeavour of this team,” Shastri expressed.

“It’s been superbly consistent. When you look at the performance over the last 2 or 3 years, it’s been simply outstanding but as I said, that’s the bar they have set and now they have to make an effort to raise the bar,” said Ravi Shastri.

“Even at the cost of certain results, you will not know where your best combination is. There is a time where you will have to invest in getting youth into the side and in ensuring we have better combinations and better depth, all-round,” told the coach.

“Over the last 4, 5 years… the biggest improvement has been in fielding. The endeavour is to make this the best fielding side in this world. So it is a clear diktat to whoever wants to be in this team… the standards of that particular player’s fielding will have to be at the highest level, especially in white-ball cricket,” shared the coach. “Collectively, look at the coaches, the players and the team management… the endeavour is to keep this consistency going and try and take it to another level.”

He also said that the next two years will be important for India and that he would do his best.

“Next 2 years is to ensure a smooth transition. There will be a lot of youngsters coming into the white-ball and the Test match set-up. You need to identify another 4-5 bowlers to the set-up. In the next 25-26 months, my endeavour would be to leave the team at a happier place so that they can set a legacy for the time to come,” Shastri said.

“I am not going to be here if I didn’t think this is going to be challenging. I relish a challenge. The game has taught you to never back away from a challenge. Look at straight in the eye and go out there and compete. We will be looking to do that wherever we go and play. We believe wherever we go it’s home. So we have to go out and play in that fashion,” said Shastri.

However, India haven’t won any ICC trophy yet under his guidance. But they have two ICC World Cup coming up in 2020 and 2021. India will surely try to win the ICC Trophy under Shastri’s tenure.