India's 2-1 series win over Australia in the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy has got to be one of the greatest comeback stories of all time. Hammered in Adelaide, the Indian team regrouped to put together three stellar performances, winning the second Test in Melbourne, drawing the third in Sydney when not too many believed they could before India registered arguably their greatest win ever in Brisbane
All of it couldn't have been possible without plenty of ingredients – the youngsters rising to the occasion, Ajinkya Rahane's leadership, the role of Rahul Dravid in helping shape these youngsters, but one very important factor, which people forget to mention in head coach Ravi Shastri. Shastri's role was lauded by former Pakistan captain Inzamam-Ul-Haq, who feels the former India all-rounder's astute knowledge of the game has helped the team immensely.
“One factor that people are not mentioning is Ravi Shastri. He started as off the team director and returned as the head coach, the experience and the game sense he has I feel has helped the Indian team and its players a lot. Everyone has watched him play; he was a big player for India, a terrific all-rounder,” Inzamam said on his YouTube channel.
Shastri, 57, came on board as coach of the Indian cricket team in July of 2017 and following a successful tenure, during which India beat Australia in 2018-19 2-1 to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar trophy and reached the semi-final of the World Cup in 2019, was re-appointed in August 2019 until the 2021 T20 World Cup.
{{/usCountry}}Shastri, 57, came on board as coach of the Indian cricket team in July of 2017 and following a successful tenure, during which India beat Australia in 2018-19 2-1 to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar trophy and reached the semi-final of the World Cup in 2019, was re-appointed in August 2019 until the 2021 T20 World Cup.
{{/usCountry}}Inzamam pointed out that Shastri's tremendous commentary skills, through which he used to say the right things, is a feature of Shastri's innate ability to have a grasp of situations and that the team owes him plenty for ensuring that India did not dwell over the disappointment of Adelaide.
“I remember when he used to do commentary, the kind of things he used to say and the eye for talent that he had, you could figure how much knowledge he had of the game. That I believe has helped this Indian team a lot. He is a tough campaigner and it was evident by the fact that despite the Adelaide debacle, he ensured the team did not go down, and instead pulled them back up,” Inzamam added.