INDIA TOUR OF SRI LANKA, 2017

INDIA TOUR OF SRI LANKA, 2017

For Ravi Shastri, it's all about pressing the play button

Ravi Shastri waxed lyrical about the Indian captain and added that he has matured a lot since 2015 © AFP

Ravi Shastri's appointment as the coach of the Indian team may have come under a big cloud of confusion and uncertainty, but he himself hasn't an iota of doubt. Shastri has returned to the helm after a one year break, when Anil Kumble coached the side. He was selected as the head coach soon after Kumble decided not to seek an extension following differences with the captain, Virat Kohli.

Shastri's campaign with the Indian team, the first as coach, began in some style, with a thumping 304-run win over Sri Lanka in Galle. Ahead of the second Test, Shastri appeared in front of the media during India's practice session on Tuesday (August 1). Talking about his different roles with the Indian team, Shastri said there is nothing that he has to change in terms of how his role plays out. He also stated that his role is more about getting the players ready mentally for the games and fine tuning their technique or approach.

"I have been manager, director, now I am head coach - it's the same role. Absolutely the same role, so there is nothing that I have to change. The fact that you played the game and watched the game for long periods of time without a break does help. So you know what's contemporary and what's happening at the moment and you relate with people in that fashion.

"I don't think at this level coaching is needed. At this level, it is all about fine tuning and getting the blokes in good mental space to go out and play the game. They know they have reached here because they are good. At times you might need to just fine tune them a bit because the amount of cricket that's being played you might just get into the odd bad habit without you realizing it," he said.

When Shastri was last in charge, India had a young team with a young new captain. Now, however, things have changed quite drastically. Shastri is in charge of a team that is top of the crop and bustling with match-winners. They have a team of exciting youngsters who are waiting to break in, as well. Shastri was all praise for the current crop of players and added that he was confident of seeing them do well overseas.

"This team has been with each other for two years and they are much more experienced now. They have already done things that a lot of Indian teams and a lot of big names couldn't do in their careers. Like to win a series here (in Sri Lanka) after 20 years.

"This team is used to doing things that a lot of other teams haven't done and that too overseas. Forget Australia, I am not even touching Australia tour, so when you say overseas like South Africa, England, it is a lot of tough cricket coming up and I see it as an opportunity. I am very positive here that this team can do things that probably no other Indian team has done.

Shastri inherited a team that was already in cruise mode in its cricket. They had enjoyed a season which saw them on the losing side only once. They made it to the Champions Trophy final, before being upset by Pakistan. All the bases seemed covered, and as Shastri put it, all he had to do was press the play button again.

"For me, I don't carry any baggage. For me, it was like walking into the dressing room as I had left it. Nothing had changed and no special buttons I had to press. It was just that one play button and off you went. The boys were fantastic in the last Test match but what we are striving for is improvement. There are still areas to improve from the last game. And we have discussed that and what we want from this team as a unit collectively is consistency. Not just where you are good in one game and totally the opposite in the other. Your levels of consistency have to be high."

The team's success also grows from playing alongside like-minded people. There are players who bring out their A-game consistently, and the intensity rarely drops. Aggression, not just of the sledging kind, is not an uncommon feature, too, and with Shastri, there is one more competitive, aggressive influencer on board. Speaking about Virat Kohli, Shastri waxed lyrical about the captain and added that he has matured a lot since 2015, when he took over from MS Dhoni.

"I can see a very big difference from when he captained in his first Test match to what he is now. I was there in Adelaide when he captained in his first Test match and he is 27-28 Test matches old now as captain. You can see a big difference. You can see in the body language and he has matured, and he will continue to mature and learn. For his age, he has done a lot. Again, there are signs there that he can be right up there with the very best."

Shastri was consistently pressed about how the dressing room and environment has changed since he last was in charge. As Shastri as Shastri can get, all the questions were brushed away disdainfully. If he can continue getting the Indian team to perform they way it did in the last Test, the cloud of uncertainty will be dealt with similarly as well.