The former Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri has revealed quite a few surprising details about his tenure as the head coach since he left that position. One of the most shocking details revealed by him is that the Indian cricket team captain and coach do not have a major saying in the team’s selection. Only the group of selectors decide who should play in the Indian cricket team.
Ravi Shastri was the Indian cricket team’s head coach during the 2019 Cricket World Cup. The Men in Blue made it to the semifinals of that competition. In the semifinal match, the rain interrupted the proceedings multiple times. The one-day game became a two-day game, which eventually ended with the New Zealand cricket team defeating the Indian cricket team.
There were three wicket-keeper batters in the Indian playing XI for that game, namely MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant. Dhoni kept the wickets, while the other two players played as pure batters. Fans should note that Pant was not in the original squad, but joined in as a replacement for Shikhar Dhawan.
Ravi Shastri wanted Ambati Rayudu or Shreyas Iyer in the team
In his recent interview with The Times of India, Ravi Shastri spilled the beans about the team selection. Many fans wanted Ambati Rayudu in that squad, and now Ravi has disclosed that even he wanted either Rayudu or Shreyas Iyer in the squad. But he did not have any say in the selection process. The former Indian coach saw no logic in having all three wicket-keepers in one team.
“I had no say in that (team selection). But I wasn’t okay with three wicketkeepers being picked for the World Cup. Either Ambati or Shreyas could’ve come in. What was the logic in having MS Dhoni, Rishabh [Pant] and Dinesh [Karthik] all together?” said Ravi Shastri.
