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Cricket Players'Easy to jump the gun and say, 'go out there and play': Shastri reveals 'fear' in India camp before postponed 5th Test
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has opened up on the environment inside the dressing room before the postponed fifth Test between India and England last year.
Team India is taking part in the rescheduled fifth and final Test of the series against England in Edgbaston. The game was originally scheduled to be played in Manchester last year, but was postponed following a Covid-19 outbreak in the Indian camp. Then-head coach Ravi Shastri had also tested positive for the virus, and the decision was taken to eventually postpone the game to July 2022.
Over eight months later, Shastri – now a part of the broadcasting team for the fifth Test – has opened up on the ‘fear' inside the Indian dressing room ahead of the postponed Test. The former India head coach was asked if it were possible to continue with the game during a conversation on Sky Sports ahead of the Edgbaston Test.
“At that time, it was very easy to jump the gun and say, 'you know, go out there and play'. But there were a lot of players with young families. The word on Covid was not a 100% certain thing. Anybody could've gotten it in the middle of the Test match, and then it would have been even worse. Now, the fear factor of getting Covid and being isolated isn't the same. People know they have to get on with it,” Shastri said.
“That mindset wasn't there 8 months ago. Even the authorities didn't know whether they had the right to say, 'get on with it. Nothing's going to happen. It's just a flu'. They were justified to do what they did at that time, because of the mindset,” he said further.
Shastri also revealed that even during those troubled times, he had wanted to “get on” with the Test using reserves, but it was a tough call to make.
“Even then, I wasn't in the dressing room but I had half the mindset to get the reserves out and finish the series. But it was a tough call to take. Had anyone tested positive during the Test match, there would've been big problems,” said Shastri.
The fifth Test of the series eventually began on July 1, with England winning the toss and opting to bowl. Jasprit Bumrah is leading the Indian team in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who was ruled out after testing positive for Covid-19.
