India made a strong comeback in the Test series against Australia after losing the first match. They were bowled out for 36 in the first innings of the first Test to eventually suffer a defeat but turned tables for themselves to win the series 2-1.
India fielding coach R.Sridhar in an exclusive chat with Cricketnext talked about head coach Ravi Shastri’s roles and how does he react to criticism.
“First of all, Shastri doesn't care about what people think. Ravi Shastri doesn't care one bit what people write about him or think about him. With Ravi Shastri, what you see is what you get. This is not the first series where his inputs have been invaluable to the Indian team. He's always been one of the best observers, it's outstanding,” he said.
“Shastri's inputs have always been invaluable for the team. It's just that it has come to the fore in this series because the result is extraordinary and history has been achieved especially at the Gabba. He has been one guy who has always backed the players, made them feel good and given very very inputs. So many times he has given inputs about where to stand for batsmen, how to counter angles, which guard to take for which bowler... Virat has openly admitted once that Shastri asked him to stand a few steps in front of the crease,” he added.
Sridhar also lauded Bharat Arun’s efforts and said, “We are also very very blessed to have Bharat Arun with us, he is one of the best readers of a cricket pitch I've ever seen. He can read pitches to perfection. In Jamaica, he said the ball would turn. We were like 'what are you saying paaji, turn in Jamaica?'. He said you wait and watch, the pitch will turn on the third and fourth days. Eventually in that match, Jadeja was unplayable.”
“His knowledge of soil, grass, the way pitches are prepared across the world is outstanding because he has himself made grounds and pitches in Chennai in those days. So he has extreme knowledge of soil, ground and grass. Combine that with Shastri's cricket acumen, we have a potent force there in terms of tactical decisions,” the fielding coach added.
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