Would have liked a bigger gap between the IPL and World Cup: Ravi Shastri

Team India head coach Ravi Shastri stated that his players were physically and mentally drained having spent six months in a bubble. Shastri hinted that the same could have been a factor behind the Indian team’s inability to qualify for the semi-finals of the ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup. The Team India head coach further stated that he would have ideally liked a bigger gap between the recently concluded edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the prestigious tournament.

“When I took this job, I said in my mind I want to make a difference”

“It (journey) has been fantastic. When I took this job, I said in my mind I want to make a difference and I think I have. Sometimes in life, it’s not all about what you accomplish, it’s what you overcome. And what these guys have overcome over the last five years, the way they have travelled across the globe and performed in every part of the globe in all formats of the game will make this – irrespective of what’s happened here – as one of the great teams in the history of the game. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind. It’s unfortunate that we are out of this tournament but that takes nothing away from a great side,” said Shastri as quoted by Cricbuzz.

“(High point) Across all formats there are plenty. But winning in red-ball cricket across the globe – West Indies, Sri Lanka, Australia, England we are leading the series. It could be the longest lead in the history of cricket because the next Test is next year. To go across and beat all these sides every team in white-ball cricket – T20 or 50 over – we have beaten sides in their den which was my endeavour and team’s endeavour. We were always labelled as big bullies at home, but when you had to travel outside you didn’t have the goods. But this team has shown they have more and plenty of that,” he added.

“Still players here who will play for another 3-4 years”

Shastri was full of praise for former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid, stating that he had inherited a great team.

“In Rahul Dravid, they’ve got a guy who has inherited a great team and I think with his experience, he can only raise the bar in time to come. There are still players here who will play for another 3-4 years which is very important. It is not a team in transition and that’ll make the biggest difference. Virat is still there, he has done a fantastic job as the leader of the side, he’s been the biggest ambassador for Test cricket over the last five years. Lot of credit goes to him in the way he’s thought about how he wants the team to play the game and how the team has rallied around him,” he said.

“I am mentally drained but I expect that at my age. These guys are physically and mentally drained, six months in a bubble and we would have ideally liked a bigger gap between the IPL and the World Cup. It’s when the big games come and when the pressure hits you – you are not that switched on as you should be. And it’s not an excuse. We take defeat because we are not scared of losing. Because in trying to win, you will lose a game. Here we didn’t try to win because that X-factor was missing,” concluded Shastri.