'Don’t even go there': Ravi Shastri comes up with cheeky response on Sachin Tendulkar's statue resembling Steve Smith

In a light-hearted chat on a podcast, former India captain and head coach Ravi Shastri on Sunday wondered if batting legend Sachin Tendulkar would be happy with his statue that has been installed at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Tendulkar's statue was unveiled at the iconic venue in the presence of the legend himself along with a host of other dignitaries on 1 November, on the eve of the ICC World Cup match between India and Sri Lanka. The statue however, has since gone viral for its resemblance to Australian batting star Steve Smith. Former England captain Michael Vaughan asked Shastri what he thought of the Smith-lookalike statue on the latest episode of the Club Prairie Fire Podcast. Shastri, who has returned to the commentary box after his four-year stint as India head coach ended in 2021, responded by saying he was yet to pick Tendulkar’s brain on the topic. “Don’t even go there! I have not even met him. So I have not asked him. I’d like to pick his brain on what he thinks. Where did he play that shot? “I will know from his face whether he is happy with that statue or he is not because it won’t be long to know,” he added. [caption id=“attachment_13331512” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Sachin Tendulkar’s life-sized statue is formally unveiled at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on the eve of the ICC World Cup match between India and Sri Lanka. PTI[/caption] The unveiling of the statue was a grand occasion with Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, BCCI secretary Jay Shah and vice president Rajeev Shukla, Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar among those present at the Wankhede Stadium for the ceremony. It is presently installed next to the Sachin Tendulkar Stand at the batting icon’s home ground. Shastri also backed Tendulkar’s call to reduce One-Day Internationals to 40-overs a side keeping in mind the dwindling attention spans of current generation. “I think changes have to be made. When we won the World Cup in 83 it was a 60-over game it changed to 50 overs. You have to evolve with time, you have to see the attention span of the spectator. It is diminishing. I think the way forward would be a 40-over game,” Shastri added.