'I'm happy with 5 friends, don't want more': Shastri's sensational reply to Ashwin's 'teammates are colleagues' remark

Ravi Shastri had a straightforward response to Ravichandran Ashwin's ‘teammates are colleagues’ remark following the WTC Final loss.

Earlier this month, India faced a disappointing loss to Australia in the final of the World Test Championship. In addition to India's poor performance in the title clash, one of the major talking points was the absence of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin from the playing XI. The star bowler didn't find a place in the side owing to pitch conditions at the Oval; the decision, however, met with criticism from fans and former cricketers alike. India captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid faced further scrutiny for Ashwin's snub after Nathan Lyon, Australia's off-spinner, picked four crucial wickets to become the highest wicket-taker in India's second innings.

Ravi Shastri had a rather straightforward response to Ashwin's remark on the Indian dressing room (File)

Days after the WTC Final defeat, Ashwin, in an interview with Indian Express, opened up on being benched for the final and also talked about the various aspects of being a part of the Indian team. One of his remarks in the interview created quite a buzz on social media, as he stated there are “colleagues” in the dressing room, rather than “friends.”

“This is an era where everybody is a colleague. Once upon a time when cricket was played, all your teammates were friends. Now, they’re colleagues. There’s a big difference because here people are there to advance themselves and to stride ahead of another person sitting to your right or left. So nobody’s got the time to say, ‘okay, boss what are you up to’?” he had said.

“In fact, I believe cricket gets better when you share it. It gets better when you when you understand another person’s technique and another person’s journey. But it doesn’t happen anywhere close to how much it must happen. Nobody will come for your help. It’s an isolated journey. Of course, you can reach any professional you want to, tap into some coach, you can pay and go, practice, try to feed of them and all that. But sometimes we forget that cricket is a very self-taught sport.”

Now, former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who had worked closely with Ashwin during his time with the team, had a rather straighforward remark when asked about Ashwin's comment. Shastri bluntly stated that there will always be colleagues, no matter whether it's the dressing room or the commentary box.

“For me, it was always colleagues. You will have buddies who are colleagues. I mean... how many close friends do anyone have? If you go and ask anyone, they will say 4-5... in their life! I'm happy with 5 close friends in my life, I don't want more than that,” Shastri told The Week.

“What I'm saying is, all the time colleagues. Commentary box, colleagues,” he said further.

Since leaving the head coach role in 2021, Shastri has returned to broadcasting and was also part of the commentary team in the WTC Final earlier this month.