Internet Desk: Ravi Shastri threw an open challenge to swashbuckling West Indian opener Chris Gayle and the flamboyant Caribbean batting line up ahead of the World T20 semis at Wankhede on Thursday. The Indian Team Director Ravi Shastri set the tone for his team ahead of the cracking clash. Ever since he took charge of the Indian team, he has done wonders guiding Dhoni and his men reach the semi final of ICC World Cup as well as whitewashing the Australians in a T20 series Down Under. The team was on a role in the T20 format winning 10 out of their last 11 matches before suffering a jolt against New Zealand in the opener of World T20. The Team Director echoed the confidence of his squad ahead of the semi finals at Wankhede .
On Gayle’s challenge to Indian bowlers
Bring it on! All our bowlers will target him.
The team’s approach against West Indies
We always want to be consistent and take it one game at a time. That’s been our approach. With every T20 game that we played, we knew that there was a World Cup coming up, but we said let’s respect the format from the very beginning and let’s treat every game as a knock out. You want to win every game, which means it doesn’t matter who the opposition is, you just play the game.
Does Virat’s form give confidence to the whole team?
It was an outstanding innings. One of the best you will ever see in T20 cricket. I don’t know how long T20 cricket will be played, but when you consider the occasion and the pressure, the kind of shots he played was quite unbelievable. All cricketing shots and he sprayed the ground.
Journey as team director
It’s been a long journey. If I start telling you know, I’ll need atleast a month to finish. Unfortunately, we’ve got a semifinal tomorrow. To cut it short, it has been self-belief. They’re a good team and they have not compromised on work ethics when it comes to putting in the yards.
How important is the momentum within the team ?
I’ve said that from the beginning. They are probably one of the most dangerous sides in this format, because they’ve got explosive players, they’ve got match winners. We know what we’re up against, and we’re up and ready as well. This is not a knock out for us. The knock out was the last game. That was a quarterfinal, this is a semifinal.
Your influence on Virat…
I had absolutely no doubt when I took the job. Seeing the form he was in, and knowing fully well he’ll be right back on track. It was just a case of mind over matter. You’ve got to give him the credit for believing that he can be right up there with the best and putting in the hard yards. Let me tell you, no one trains harder than Virat. If he’s as successful as he’s been over the last 18 months, credit must be given to him for putting in that much of hard work and believing in himself.
Yuvraj’s absence in the team
It will have an impact because he’s had his moments. I thought his three overs were brilliant in the last game. It put the brakes on the scoring and allowed us to come back in the game. Because after the first four overs, it was a no contest – it looked 200, 220, which would have been very difficult to chase on that surface. It’s an injury that happened during the game when he was looking to take off, and I believe it’s a minor tear on the ankle. We’ll miss him.
How difficult is it to plan against a team like West Indies?
Do what you do best, Focus on your strengths. That’s it.
What did you tell the team after NZ loss?
In this format, you’re bound to get a hiccup. I don’t care what side it is. This format is so tight, things can happen quickly. There can be upsets, but deep down you have to focus on your strengths and keep hammering away at that. And take it one step at a time.
How important is the need for top three to perform?
Oh you would need it; in a big game like the semifinal. I still believe we’ve played 70% to our ability, there’s still 30% where we can improve. Let’s hope it happens tomorrow, because in a semifinal, you’ve got to get your A game. You can’t depend on one or two players, you need six or seven players to step up to the plate. It’s not happened really in this tournament so far, let’s hope it happens tomorrow.
Who’s likely to take Yuvi’s place?
We’ve not decided. Manish has just joined the party yesterday. We’ll take a good look at everything in the nets and see what the best option for tomorrow is. Yes, we’ll have to keep those overs in mind.
On having confidence in his bowlers repeating their skills in Mumbai?
I see no reason why. I thought Bangalore was a good surface, Mohali was a good surface too. This is always been a good surface. Again, it is repeating what we’ve been doing and keeping things simple.
On his future in the team .
Let tomorrow happen first, yaar. It’s the semifinal. Kamaal ke aadmi ho yaar( What kind of man are you?)