His report will decide Duncan Fletcher’s future as India’s cricket coach and Ravi Shastri, who served as Team Director during the just-concluded limited overs series against England, has put his weight behind the under-fire Zimbabwean by calling him a “solid character”.
Speaking to ‘ESPNCricinfo’, Shastri lavished praise on Fletcher, who is under the scanner after a mixed tour of England during which the Indians were thrashed in the Test series before bouncing back to win the ODIs.
“He is tremendous. He would have done over a 100 Tests as coach, which is massive. He is technically very sound. He is a solid character. He is respected. He is a fatherly figure,” Shastri said.
“I knew Fletcher from the 1983 World Cup. Then in 1984 I led an India Under-25 side to Zimbabwe, where he was my counterpart. So I was aware of his leadership qualities already. Also what made Fletcher’s job easier was having the trio of Sanjay Bangar, Bharat Arun and R Sridhar as his assistant coaches,” he added.
“Fletcher is the coach. He looks after the handling of various things including little, little stuff. My experience comes into play from the outside – of having been there, done that. The fact that I watch so much is a massive help. And my personality is such if I feel like saying something I don’t hold back. I don’t care who it is.”
Speaking about his own stint with the team, Shastri said he is glad to have made a positive difference after the 1-3 loss in the Test series.
“I got more than I would have expected. I say that only because of England’s record at home, not many sides have thrashed them 3-0 in a four-ODI series. It is a big achievement: from what they were mentally after the Test series defeat, and then to respond in that fashion made me feel proud,” he said.
