Sanjay Bangar credits Ravi Shastri for the fearless attitude in the current Indian setup

After the Champions Trophy, 2017 a lot changed in Indian cricket, coach Anil Kumble stepped down following indifferences with skipper Virat Kohli. This was when Ravi Shastri was appointed the Indian coach. The team has enjoyed a sensational stint under him so far.

While Shastri was offered to have Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan as specialists under his management, he preferred to hold on to Sanjay Bangar and bring in Bharat Arun. Bangar has been a part of the Indian setup since 2014 and was in the position even during Kumble’s tenure.

Shashtri has an influence on the mindset

Both Bangar and Ravi Shastri have played a huge hand in India’s success in the season. The batting coach credited the head coach for the fearless attitude in the current Indian setup.

“It began under Ravi’s [Shastri] leadership. His influence on the batsmen’s mindsets has been very good. He has taken the fear of failure out of everybody. Players are willing to take risks, to come out of their comfort zone. Players are also taking responsibility, which is a great thing for a team which wants to leave a legacy behind,” Bangar said as the team prepares for the 1st Test in South Africa.

He accepted the fact that there is tremendous expectation from the team and also mentioned that every fan in India carries an opinion. While the team management does understand that, they wish to work things around to the best of their abilities and judgement to deliver the results.

“In world cricket, most teams’ home records are better than their overseas records. The following Indian cricket has is enormous and so are the expectations. Every follower has an opinion. Our job is to respect those opinions and work towards achieving our own and the fans’ expectations.”

Further, the 45-year-old described how a great team is known more for its rare failures. He stated that since 2001, there has been a significant change in India’s performance overseas. He portrayed how the benchmark has changed and it was their job to meet the expectations.

“Average teams are known for their occasional successes and great teams are known by their occasional failures. Till we won the 1983 World Cup, we did not have major overseas successes. The occasional successes were remembered far more than the failures. But from 2001, the win percentage overseas has improved. This team has clearly raised the benchmark, and it is natural for people to have high expectations,” the 45-year-old said.

Complete coverage of India’s tour of South Africa, 2018 on CricTracker.