Team India head coach Ravi Shastri praised his team for their remarkable performance in the Caribbean, calling it ‘unprecedented’ as the men in blue completed a clean sweep across all formats.
India won all the games in the tour with the exception of one washout.
“To beat the West Indies in West Indies across all three formats, I think this must be unprecedented.” Shastri told Gulf News. “A team going to the Caribbean and not losing a single game, I don’t think it has happened in the past and it will not happen that easily in the near future.”
Shastri was reappointed as the head coach for another two years and he said that the main aim will be to maintain the consistency and give youngsters a chance at the same time.
“The vision is to keep the consistency level going,” Shastri said. “It will be a team in transition, and one has to keep an eye out for the youth and also keep an eye on developing the bench strength as far as batting and bowling goes across all three formats. We should, at the same time, be never losing sight of the fact that you play to win. Never losing that angle, but yet, at the same time, investing in youth.”
The 57-year-old further added that World Test Championship and the upcoming T20 World Cup in 2020 are the two main focus points for the team going ahead.
“We are playing at home [against South Africa], and it is the World Test Championship, so now there is even more reason on why you have to play the way you should. There are now points to be accumulated. We are the No.1 team in the world, and we have been for the last three years, so there is pride at stake as well.
“So we want to keep that consistency going and ensuring that we are placed nicely in the table for when the time comes to decide who plays in the final.
“The path should be that knowing well you have got 12 months to go for the T20 World Cup and you have about 18-20 months to go for the World Test Championship. Getting youth in during that transition period by keeping an eye on the youth is important so that they can mix with the experience and give us a really solid side” he added.
