NEW DELHI: Former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels coaching is tougher than playing cricket or working as a commentator. He said the job comes with huge responsibility and pressure, as a coach has little control over what happens once the players step onto the field.
Known for his straight-talking nature and energetic commentary, Shastri shared his views on the three roles in an interview with Sky Sport’s Ian Smith.
When asked which one he found the toughest, the former India coach picked coaching.
“Yeah, the toughest would be coaching, right. See, no, because you are nothing in your control once the players leave and get onto the field. You have the bat, ball when you’re playing, the mic when you’re broadcasting. But once the players go out, you know, you can only twiddle your thumbs. And it comes with immense responsibility. You know, the expectations of the country are such. COVID, no COVID, you got to win, you know, game after game. So there’s no hiding behind that,” Shastri said.
He also spoke about the pressure that comes with the job and the satisfaction of delivering results.
“You know, you always have the gun to your head. But if you pull it off and you’re successful, I mean, then the rewards, it’s very rewarding. Gives you tons of respect. And, you know, makes you enjoy what you’re doing and gives you that kind of job satisfaction with nothing else gave you,” he said.
Shastri was India’s head coach from July 2017 to November 2021. His tenure saw the team achieve several major milestones, including two historic Test series victories in Australia.
India won their first-ever Test series in Australia during the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. They followed it up with another memorable 2-1 series win in 2020-21, despite several injury setbacks.
Under Shastri, India also held the No. 1 position in the ICC Test rankings for 42 months and reached the final of the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021. The team also made it to the semi-finals of the 2019 ODI World Cup.
Shastri also looked back at his journey in broadcasting and spoke about what has kept him connected to cricket for so many years.
He said his passion for the game has been the biggest reason behind his long association with the sport, despite having opportunities to explore other fields.
“[On his journey into broadcasting] it’s amazing how life can take you in various places. And particularly the cricketing life. I mean it’s captured us. I mean obviously you love the game. I mean you know to stay involved because you would have had many, many opportunities to break away and do other things with your stature in India. But you stayed with the game. And I love it. I mean the only way we can hang in here if we are passionate about the game,” Shastri said.
“If you’re not passionate about the game, you don’t love the game, you won’t be here this long with showing that kind of enthusiasm for every game day after day. You know, whether it’s with you, the way you commentated on that World Cup final, you know, a close finish, you were calling it at the end. Fabulous. And we’ve called many finals in the end, you know, right through our careers. And it’s a privilege, you know, when someone understands the game, understands the discipline of television, you know, and then to work that for that length of time. It’s fun,” he said.
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