Xtra Time Web Desk: Former Team India Head Coach Ravi Shastri on Friday said an attempt was made to ensure he did not get the job in 2017. Since being re-appointed as the Head Coach, Ravi Shastri played a huge role in reviving Indian cricket. He was not offered the job after his stint as the Team Director in 2016.
“In less than two years after I was asked set aside my broadcast career, leave everything else and join the team, I suddenly found myself out for no reason. I had sown the seeds and the fruits were beginning to show and out of nowhere I came to know I was being replaced. Nobody told me why. Yes, more than anything, it hurt because of the manner in which it was done. For all that I had contributed, just on one word from the BCCI, there were better ways to let me know “Oh look we don’t want you, we don’t like you. We want somebody else – if that was the case. Anyway, I went back to do what I do best – which is television,” said Shastri in an interview with TOI.
Talking about his second stint, Shastri added, “During my second stint, I came after a huge controversy. And it was literally egg on the faces of those who wanted me away. They opted for someone and nine months later, they came back to the very guy they threw out. And I’m not pointing any fingers at people in general. Specific people. I must say an attempt was made to ensure I don’t get the job. But such is life.”
The partnership between Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli worked wonders for Indian cricket. The team reached the No 1 test rankings and remained on top for five years. The highlights under Shastri and Kohli has been winning the test series twice against Australia apart from leading the test series 2-1 against England.