'Last time people said 'Smith, Warner weren’t there, who did we have?,' Shastri hails India's win in Aus

Head coach Ravi Shastri hailed India's series win in Australia and said that an achievement such as this was never seen before in the world of cricket.

Head coach Ravi Shastri hailed India's series win in Australia and said that an achievement such as this was never seen before in the world of cricket. The Indian tour was marred with injuries with several key players missing one or more Tests. Things looked even more dire for the visitors after India were bundled out for 36 in the Adelaide Test, and skipper Virat Kohli was set to return home.

Ravi Shastri did not hold back on his praise for the Indian team. (Getty Images)

But Ajinkya Rahane led the team brilliantly in Kohli's absence, while youngsters in the team - including the likes of Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, and Shardul Thakur stepped up in the absence of key players. India handed Australia their first defeat in Gabba in 32 years as they won the series 2-1.

Speaking in an interview on Star Sports, India head coach Ravi Shastri said: “(I would never forget) The character the boys showed right through. You talked about the best Indian performances. I will go one step forward. I don't think cricket has ever seen anything like this, or anything bigger than this."

"And that includes World Test match cricket. I don't think you would have seen anything as big as this. To go and play 16 days of Test cricket, and you add 36 all out in that was unreal.”

With as many as seven key players injured, India almost had to assemble a Playing XI from what was left of the squad, including bowling all-rounder Sundar and left-arm seamer T Natarajan being handed a Test debut in the final game at the Gabba.

"Towards the end, you did not have anyone to pick. There was one player left in the dressing room. If there was a concussion injury, you would have seen him play as well. Kartik Tyagi is his name. He was the only person left," Shastri further revealed.

"So you can imagine what the boys went through. To put up a show like that is unreal. Your hair stands up (thinking about it). Especially on the last day. Virat set the pattern six years ago with his personality. It was stacked on the rest of the team," Shastri said.

Shastri recalled the advice he gave to the team following the Adelaide debacle.

"I told the boys one of the mornings, wear that 36 as a badge. So that you will never forget it. So that when things are going your way, you make the most of it.

"During those 16 days, nothing came easy. You had to fight every day, every hour, every session, and every session-by-session, you had to build. These boys didn't let it go," he added.

"They used to call Australia as "invincibles". Now they are calling this side the "irrepressibles". And they are right when they say that. What you were left with and the refusal to let up from the boys was special," he said.

"Public memory is so short. I tell boys, in your lifetime, you will never go through a period like this where you go and win back-to-back series in Australia.

“When we went last time, people said 'last time Smith wasn't there, Warner wasn't there'. Where was Warner? And where were our players? This time who did we have? Band bajaake aa gaye unka, now no one is speaking,” Shastri signed off.