Shastri pledges to build a legacy
st. johns — Ravi Shastri, who has been re-appointed as the head coach of Team India for a second consecutive term, has insisted that his endeavour would be to help the Men in Blue build a legacy which can be emulated by other teams in the time to come.
On Friday, the three-member Committee of Administrators (CAC) comprising Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gayakwad and Shantha Rangaswamy, reappointed Shastri as the head coach till the 2021 World T20.
Speaking to BCCI.TV after his re-appointment, Shastri — who is currently in the West Indies — extended gratitude to the CAC for reposing their faith on him.
“First I would like to thank the CAC for having faith in me. It’s a privilege and honour to be part of Team India,” said Shastri.
“The reason why I came in here is the belief I had in this team, the belief that they could leave a legacy which very few teams have left behind which other teams going down will try and emulate.
“That is the desire. We are on track. There’s always room for improvement and with youth coming around, we can be sure of exciting times in the near future,” he added. The Indian head coach emphasised that he, alongwith the team, would be striving to improve on all fronts and make sure they learn from mistakes.
“You’ve got to learn from your mistakes, nobody is perfect. When you strive for excellence and strive to raise the bar then you have to pay attention to detail,” he said.
“When you mess up or have an off day, don’t let that day go by and make sure you are focusing and concentrating on how you can overcome that barrier. That will be the endeavour of this team,” he added.
The 57-year-old Indian allrounder, who was Team India director between 2014 and 2016, was appointed the head coach after Anil Kumble’s resignation following the 2017 Champions Trophy where India lost to Pakistan in the final.