Xtra Time Web Desk : There has been a lot of talks in the recent years over Team India’s failure to win any major ICC Tournaments. And now, the former Team India coach Ravi Shastri, who had been at the helm for the last four years, has opened up on his successful stint with Virat Kohli and his boys .
In an interview with The Times of India, the former all rounder said, “There are so many firsts this team has achieved. Yet, there’s disappointment. With this kind of a team, we failed at not one, two but three ICC trophies. But the one that rankles me most is the ICC Test championship. We had dominated and were No.1 for five years and we didn’t deserve to lose the one-off game. We went through quarantine. New Zealand were better prepared. They had just won the series against England in England. Conditions suited them like home. But we should’ve at least drawn it, especially after beginning at 60 for no loss. That loss disappointed me no end. Our other best chance was the 2019 World Cup. I’m not so rankled by the 2021 T20 WC exit – to be honest we weren’t among the best sides. But 2019 hurts equally bad. The start we had, then the game being carried on to the next day. But barring these two blips, it’s been one heck of a ride. If you’d told me in 2014 this is where I’d be in 2021 – you might not win a World Cup, but these are among the other things you’ll achieve – I’d say, ‘give it to me any time.”
“Go and ask anyone which has been the best side in the world in the last three years and they’ll say India. Ask an Englishman, ask the Aussies and they’ll tell you – which for me is the ultimate accolade. And that cannot come without Test cricket. These bunch of guys, when they’re done playing, someday they’ll look back and realize what they achieved,” he added.