Only the fittest will survive going forward: Ravi Shastri warns the players

Men in Blue owns the status of being one of the best if not the best fielding side in world cricket at the moment. Their emergence as an immensely fit and athletic side in the modern day cricket is the prime reason behind their dominance across all the formats of the game.

There are still a few players in the team who have to put in the hard yards in terms of their fitness and head coach Ravi Shastri has cleared the air by stating that only the fittest can continue their journey with the team. He emphasized the importance of having fit players in the squad and his plans keeping the 2019 World Cup in view.

“Oh, yes. When the time comes for India to field a side for the 2019 50-over World Cup, we should have the best fielding XI in the world walking out. Only the fittest of the lot will survive and thrive going forward and that’s right up there in the list of priorities,” Shastri was quoted by TOI while talking about putting extra efforts to further improve India’s fielding.

Trust between him and players

As Team India completed their first ever series whitewash away from home, Shastri stressed on the trust level between him and players. He also went on to say that he has continued from where he left as far as the set-up and the belief are concerned.

“Well, the trust is there. I can’t speak for the time when I wasn’t around, but what I can say with a sense of absolute belief is that nothing has changed between how things were during my last stint and now. I said at the start of the tour that I’m walking into a set-up which I had put in place and was working on until a year ago. That’s the same set-up I’ve walked back into,” the Indian head coach stated.

He was also of the opinion that it is for the players to answer if they had faith in him or not. “Well, that is for the players to answer. I have a job to do and in my close to 35-year-career as a cricketer/commentator and the other roles that I’ve handled, I’ve only tried to give my best. All I can say is that the sense of trust, knowing they have someone around they can walk up to and discuss anything they want. If I really want to make lives difficult in order to get 100 percent commitment from the other guy, I can very well do that and everybody in this set-up knows what I’m talking about,” Shastri continued.

Shastri doesn’t believe in interfering in the team

The former Indian team skipper also said that he doesn’t believe in unnecessary interference in the team.

“Yet, at the same time, I don’t believe in unnecessary interference. Everybody in this set-up has a responsibility carved out and come what may, that responsibility needs to be carried out to the best of the ability. My job is to ensure this is happening on a daily basis and outside of this, anything that needs to be done in the interest of the team,” he added.

He was very happy with the fact that India whitewashed Sri Lanka in their own backyard and is aware of the challenges ahead.