Ravi Shastri backs successor Rahul Dravid to 'raise the bar', hints at picking up mic again

Dubai: Outgoing head coach Ravi Shastri feels his successor Rahul Draivd has inherited a “great team” and backed him to raise the bar with his wealth of experience as a player and coach. The T20 World Cup game against Namibia was Shastri’s last day in the office as the head coach. “There is one thing missing, that is (winning the) ICC tournament. They will get a chance and Rahul Dravid has come as a coach, I wish him all the luck. “He is a great player, got the stature, he has done the yards as a coach, to further take this team over the next few years and raise the bar,” Shastri said at the virtual post-match media interaction on Monday. Shastri achieved back to back Test series wins in Australia in his tenure but an ICC trophy eluded him and skipper Virat Kohli. Shastri also heaped praise on outgoing bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar, whose tenures too ended with the team’s World Cup campaign. [caption id=“attachment_10121931” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  “He (Dravid) is a great player, got the stature, he has done the yards as a coach,” Shastri said.[/caption] “See, I call him (Arun) the guru of that (bowling) department… him and Sridhar have done an outstanding job, but I’ll come first to Bharat Arun. He has been in the coaching space for almost 20 years now, if not more. “And not only that he has coached a lot of coaches, he has conducted a lot of courses, he has certified a lot of coaches and then come to do this job and that’s the prime reason I picked them… “…because I wanted to pick people from my stable, which is the NCA and I happen to be the chairman there for sometime when the system was put in place. That is the time guys like Sridhar and Arun came into the fold, with Dav Whatmore there,” Shastri said. Shastri said Arun’s biggest plus point was his communication. “He will not change anyone’s technique for the sake of it, unless he has the solution or unless he explains to the guy (player) why he has to do it, for the sake of doing it, he won’t. “He instilled professionalism in the unit by his communication skills, to let them know that this is what we expect from a bowling team not a bowling individual, that is not easy, that is something specific that he did, he ensured that happened.” Under Sridhar’s guidance, Shastri felt the team became one of the best fielding units in the world. “And then I’ll go to Sridhar, who I think is one of the best coaches in the world (and) he is outstanding. All I had to tell him was I want this to be one of the best Indian fielding sides ever, that was my diktat to him and said in every match, I want to see the bar raised…. “….there was no messing around, it had to be done and similarly with Arun as far as professionalism came to bowling as a unit, it took time, but it happened and hence the results,” added Shastri Shastri hints at picking up mic again The 59-year-old was a celebrated commentator before he became the head coach of the Indian team. Shastri was in the commentary box in 2011 when Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit that six off Nuwan Kulasekara to end India’s 28-year wait for a World Cup trophy. The former player is game for a second run. “I mean, if you look at – if you want the real highlights, nothing beats Australia. England, we’re up in the series. It will be the longest time we’ll be up in the series until next year. “I might be commentating on that game for all you know, but I’ll keep that one area. It feels good,” Shastri said referring to the pending fifth Test against England which was rescheduled to next year due to a COVID-19 outbreak in India’s camp in September. Speculation is also rife that he might take up a coaching role in the IPL.