Ravi Shastri To Work With MI Or CSK, Fan Asks. Ex India Coach Gives Clever Reply

14.04.2023 - 09:15 sports.ndtv.com

Ravi Shastri's tenure as India coach saw the team attaining several highs in Test cricket. He and then India captain Virat Kohli formed a powerful duo in Indian cricket and ushered in a culture of supreme focus on fitness.

Shastri is currently working as a cricket expert. Recently during a fun chat session on ESPN Cricinfo, where he took questions from fans, he an interesting query. "If given the opportunity to coach CSK or MI, which one would he accept?" he was asked by a fan.

The reply was even more awesome: "Both. The money offered has to be a little higher on one side. The scale has to go up. It's very obvious." Shastri was recently effusive in his praise for Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Tilak Varma and said that he would be very surprised if the youngster did not play for the country in the next six to eight months.

On Tuesday, Tilak scored a crucial 41 off 29 balls and shared a 68-run stand with skipper Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians registered their first win of the season after beating the Delhi Capitals.

cricket India Cricket Team Mumbai Indians Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma Star Sports Ravi Shastri India Delhi Chennai

Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir are two very big names in world cricket. However, they have a history of on-field altercations in the IPL. The latest one happened during an IPL 2023 game on Monday between the Gambhir mentored-Lucknow Super Giants and Kohli's team Royal Challengers Bangalore. RCB won the low-scoring match as Kohli could be seen celebrating animatedly the LSG batters' dismissals. He even had an argument with LSG player Naveen-ul-Haq, though it is not clear who started the fight. Then things looked like going out of hand as Gambhir had a heated exchange with Kohli after the match ended.

After Sunil Gavaskar Suggests Rohit Sharma "To Take A Break" from IPL 2023, Mumbai Indians Coach's Clear Update

Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher on Saturday said team captain Rohit Sharma has not asked for rest in the ongoing Indian Premier League, but will look into it if he does. Rohit has featured regularly in what has been an ordinary campaign for Mumbai Indians in the IPL this year, with the five-time winners currently placed at the eighth spot at the halfway mark and requiring a lot to do in order to move up the standings. Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar had recently suggested that MI and India captain Rohit should take a break from the IPL in order to keep himself fresh for the World Test Championship final against Australia from June 7-11 at The Oval in London.

On If MS Dhoni Will "Come Out Of Retirement For WTC Final" Suggestion, Ravi Shastri's Clear Take

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently announced the Indian squad for the World Test Championship final against Australia, to be played in the second week of June in England. The return of Ajinkya Rahane in the Test fold was the biggest news. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was pleased with the squad. However, he had one question regarding the wicketkeeper's position. It is worth noting that India's regular wicketkeeper in Test cricket, Rishabh Pant, is out of action since a horrific car crash he met with in December last year. In the southpaw's absence during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in February-March, it was Bharat who kept wickets for India while Rahul was dropped following his poor returns in the first two Tests of the four-match series.

"They Must Have Been In The Jungle...": Ravi Shastri Mocks People Linking Ajinkya Rahane's WTC Final Selection To IPL Performance

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri put his complete support behind the selectors' decision to include Ajinkya Rahane in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final squad and said that an experienced campaigner like him can prove valuable in an on-off encounter. India will take on Australia in the WTC Final at the Oval on June 7 and incidentally, Rahane's last century came against Australia at Melbourne back in 2020 which proved crucial for his side. Shastri said that Rahane's IPL form has been good but it is his domestic cricket form that catapulted him into the Test squad.

'Wasn't Invited To A Single Selection Meeting': Ravi Shastri's Huge Revelation

Former Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri revealed that he has not attended a single selection meeting during his two stints with the side. Shastri had a seven-year tenure with the national team between 2014 and 2021 – first as the team director and then as the head coach of the team. He was succeeded by Rahul Dravid after India's elimination from the 2021 T20 World Cup. In a recent interview with ESPNCricinfo, he was asked about how the selection process actually takes place in real life and his answer left even the host of the chat show surprised.

Expected Virat Kohli To Lead India When Rohit Sharma Was Injured, Ravi Shastri's Honest Admission

Virat Kohli's unfulfilling exit as India's captain from all three formats of the game did feel like a bad breakup story. With the cricketing world still trying to understand what transpired between India's finest Test captain to date and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), there remain those who are still wondering if there's a way for Kohli to return as India's captain for one last match. Though his return as Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper, even on a temporary basis, gave fans something to cheer about, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has admitted that he expected Kohli to lead when Rohit was injured for the rescheduled Birmingham Test against England.