'I had no warning' - Ravi Shastri on sudden switch from commentary to team India's director

Ravi Shastri had a successful stint with the Indian Team as head coach that came to an end after T20 World Cup 2021. However, before taking the responsibilities as head coach, he walked in the shoes of the national team’s director from 2014 to 2016. Shastri noted that switching from full-time commentary to team India’s director filled his life with immense responsibilities and added pressure.

Recently, Rob Key took over as England men’s team supremo and in the same line, Shastri went on to add his experience. While being asked to fill in the vacant position of England men’s head coach, the former cricketer brushed off the proposal while laughing. And, he stated that it’s a full-time job and people judge you round the year with loaded expectations.

“Haha. Oh no. Seven years with India – a full-time job, 300 days a year, 1.4 billion people judging you every day – that takes its toll. Good luck to anyone who lasts that long,” said Shastri while speaking to The Guardian.

And like that, I was straight in from the commentary box: Ravi Shastri

Talking about his sudden switch of roles in 2014, Shastri added that he was up in his commentary duties at the Oval when he got seven missed calls on his phone. In the spur of a moment, he was asked by the BCCI to take over as India’s director and the rest of the things would be taken care of by them.

“I had no warning. I was commentating at the Oval during India’s [2014] tour of England and came off air to find six or seven missed calls. ‘Seven bloody calls? What’s happened here?’. [The BCCI] just said: ‘We want you to take over, starting tomorrow, at any cost.’ I told them I’d have to speak to my family and commercial partners but they just said they would sort all that out. And like that, I was straight in from the commentary box. You’ll see when I joined the setup [during the ODIs], I was still in jeans and loafers. Instantly my job changed,” said Shastri

Shastri opens up on developing ruthless attitude in players

Shastri further opened up on how he developed a specific aggressive attitude in his players and how they should deal with the psychological pressure on foreign tours. He also told how he was asked to hire and fire within the team if players are not performing up to the mark.

“I was asked to hire and fire, whoever I wanted I could get in and whoever I didn’t could be shown the door. And it was also outlining how we want to play: to be aggressive and ruthless, to up the fitness levels, to get a group of fast bowlers to take 20 wickets overseas. And it was about attitude, especially when playing the Aussies. I told the boys if one single ‘fuck you’ comes your way, give them three back: two in our language and one in theirs.”