Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri is an Indian former commentator, cricketer and the former head coach of the Indian national cricket team. He played for the India national cricket team between 1981 and 1992 in both Tests and ODIs.
Ravi Shastri's tenure as head coach of the Indian cricket team comes to an end on Monday 08th Nov 2021, as the Virat Kohli-led team plays its last Super 12 match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup against Namibia in Dubai.
Shastri, who took over from Anil Kumble in 2017, over a period that has seen the Indian team do exceptionally well in Test cricket.
India won back-to-back Test series in Australia defeated West Indies and Sri Lanka away from home, and dominated teams like South Africa and England in India. The team is currently leading the Test series in England 2-1, as the final match of the series will be played in 2022.
The win rate of the team in white-ball cricket was also great with several victories in bilateral series. But the team under Shastri's has faced loss in the semi-final of the ICC World Cup in 2019 and the final of the maiden ICC Test Championship in 2021.
Before the start of the match against Namibia, Shastri in an interview said that he wanted to "make a difference" when he had taken the job and said that he thinks he has achieved it.
"It (journey) has been fantastic. When I took this job, I said in my mind I want to make a difference and I think I have. Sometimes in life, it's not all about what you accomplish, it's what you overcome. And what these guys have overcome over the last five years, the way they have traveled across the globe and performed in every part of the globe in all formats of the game will make this - irrespective of what's happened here - as one of the great teams in the history of the game. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind. It's unfortunate that we are out of this tournament but that takes nothing away from a great side." Shastri said.
"Across all formats there are plenty. But winning in red-ball cricket across the globe - West Indies, Sri Lanka, Australia, England we are leading the series. It could be the longest lead in the history of cricket because the next Test is next year. To go across and beat all these sides every team in white-ball cricket - T20 or 50 over - we have beaten sides in their den which was my endeavor and team's endeavor. We were always labeled as big bullies at home, but when you had to travel outside you didn't have the goods. But this team has shown they have more and plenty of that," Shastri said.