STAR GAZING WITH SHASTRI

In an video that Ravi Shastri shared with me on the occasion of his book launch, titled ‘Star Gazing: The Players in My Life,’ the Indian head coach shared his experience about cricketers and building mutual relationships. The book was launched in London in the presence of the Indian team.

It’s been since 2016 that Shastri had been toying with the idea of writing about cricketers — past and present — whom he admired, enjoyed playing with/ against or watched and learnt from.

He said the players featured in his book are those who not only made runs and took wickets but also influenced cricket in a big way and drew in more fans with their skills and accomplishment. “There will, of course, be disagreement with the cricketers I’ve written about, and that’s okay. All selectors must be sufficiently thick-skinned and prepared to take criticism,” he told me.

Indian captain Virat Kohli also spoke about his bond with his head coach. “I remember in 2014, he gave us a pep talk for the first time. We were a bit down as a team and things were not happening well and he was brought in, he was brought in for the second time to set things right. In his first speech he gave, the first word he said was ‘boys’ in the voice that only he can generate. And I clearly remember, I was sitting down and my body shook because I had never heard someone speak so clearly,” Kohli said at the launch event.