Off The Field

‘No Better Person To Take Over After Me Than Rahul’-Ravi Shastri

Written by Abhishek Patil

After Ravi Shastri vacated the position of Team India head coach, Rahul Dravid was named his successor. Speaking on SKY Sports, for whom he will now commentate the full English summer, he said that Dravid came out through the system and is probably more deserving than himself. He said that he was a commentator and got the job through accident.

“No better person to take over after me than Rahul. I got that job (of head coach) by mistake which I told Rahul. I was in the commentary box; I was asked to go there and I did my bit. But Rahul is a guy who has come through the system, he has done the hard yards. He has been the coach of the U-19 team and he has taken over this Indian team and I think he will enjoy it once the team starts responding to what he says,” said Shastri in a conversation with Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton on Sky Sports.

Under Shastri’s reign, India stepped up its overseas record in Test cricket, winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy twice in Australia in 2018/19 and 2020/21 apart from leading 2-1 in the series against England, taking the side to new highs in Test cricket, holding the top spot in the rankings as well.

“I think it was very rewarding, it can be a thankless job because you are judged everyday of your life by 1.4 billion (people) only. There is no hiding away from it, there is nothing to hide behind. You face the bullet, performances matter day in and day out. You got to win.”

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Abhishek Patil