Ravi Shastri at the World Cup: Coach vs Commentator – Who Wins?

It was Ravi Shastri’s voice that announced India’s World Cup winning moment in 2011.

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint) 

Editor: Mohd. Irshad Alam

Camera: Shiv Kumar Maurya

The elections are done and the ICC World Cup is finally here. Through the 1990s and right up to 2015, a World Cup, among other things, has meant words flying off Ravi Shastri’s microphone like a... well “tracer bullet.”

Having starred in cricket’s biggest tournament as a cricketer and a commentator, Shastri, at the age of 57 will be making his debut in yet another avatar in the latest edition of the World Cup – this time as coach.

If the 2003 Cup was the led by Wright-Ganguly and 2011, the age of Kirsten-Dhoni, then a Shastri-Kohli pairing in 2019 is “just what the doctor ordered.”

The Quint, brings the “biggest” World Cup debate that no one is having – Shastri the coach versus Shastri the commentator. Do we prefer him in the dressing room as coach or would rather be pleased to see him behind the microphone inside the commentary box ?

Coach Shastri

What makes Ravi Shastri stand out in his current avatar as head coach of the men’s Indian Cricket Team ?

Victory in Australia: It was under his guidance that India did something unprecedented – win a Test series in Australia. Which, by the way, he described as bigger than the '83 World Cup!

English Conditions: If Shastri can guide a team to victory on the unforgiving bouncy pitches Down Under, then he surely would have a trick or two up his sleeve in the unpredictable English conditions.

A lot will depend on how our Men in Blue adapt to overhead conditions, the pitches and reverse swing in England. I get a feeling that “no half measures” will simply work and given how good all the teams are most matches could “go down to the wire.”

And guess who has actually won a World Cup in England and knows a thing or two about the unpredictable English conditions? That’s right, Coach Shastri.

Mentoring Kohli: Who do we trust to bring us that big world cup moment? Virat Kohli. And who does captain Kohli trust as his coach? Ravi Shastri.

Kohli literally insisted on having Shastri as Team India’s head coach, which led to an unexpected change of guard in July 2017. He trusts Shastri, and their rapport has really helped Kohli  come into his own as a captain.

Nurturing a Young Side: And look at our World Cup squad – more than half the players weren’t part of the last world cup – the Bumrahs, the Kul-Chas, backing promising newbies like Vijay Shankar and Kedar Jadhav, nurturing a KL Rahul and a Hardik Pandya – and all of this in such a short time since he became coach two years ago.

Commentator Shastri

Cricket buffs, however, have grown up on liberal doses of Shastri’s trademark commentary.

Classic Shastri-isms: Well, “the news from the centre is” we really miss his commentary. Imagine Kohli belting fours after fours and no one to say “he’s dealing in boundaries here.” Or no one to acknowledge Dhoni’s catches with “edged… and taken.” When Dhawan steps out to smash a six, no one to greet it with “He’s taken the aerial route.” And when there’s nothing special to add, something as profound as “At this stage all three results are possible here.”

Shastri Partnerships: Perhaps, as popular as the current Shastri-Kohli partnership are the erstwhile Shastri-Bhogle and Shastri-Gavaskar partnerships – a staple of the last six World Cups.

And not just the One-Days, Shastri’s jodis with Harsha Bhogle and Sunil Gavaskar have endured Test matches and T20s. If Harsha is the eternal cricket romantic and Gavaskar the technical guru ji, then commentator Ravi Shastri is the ultimate master of hype, and that’s what you want in the most hyped up tournament – the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Voice for Big World Cup Moments: What is common to MS Dhoni stepping out to smash that famous six in the 2011 finals, S Sreesanth taking that catch of Misbah-ul-Haq in the 2007 T20 finals and Venkatesh Prasad sending Pakistani Aamir Sohail’s stumps flying in 1996?

It was Ravi Shastri’s booming voice that announced all three historic ICC World Cup moments to crores of Indians watching on television. Through the 1990s right up to 2015, Ravi Shastri’s voice, rather his catchphrases (read clichés) have been a staple of the last six World Cups.