Ravi Shastri has worn many hats, quite literally. He was a champion cricketer and then did top-level commentary before being appointed as the coach of the Indian cricket team. The former India player formed a great coach-captain partnership with Virat Kohli. When they were at the helm, the Indian cricket team rose to great heights in Test cricket. Under them, the side also did reasonably well in reaching the knockouts of quite a few ICC events.
Now Ravi Shastri is back to doing commentary. While he has been commentating in the Big Bash league, on Thursday, Shastri was in the commentary panel for the first Test between Pakistan and Australia. However, at the toss, those present were witness to a rare fumbles from Shastri at the toss.
“We are here in Western Australia at the magnificent Optus Stadium here in Perth. The pace of…the bounce. The toss is coming up,” Ravi Shastri was heard as saying.
Ravi Shastri was recently asked about the format and he believes that major changes are needed.
“It (One-day format) has to evolve, changes have to be made,” Shastri said on Club Prairie Firewhile responding to a question from legendary Australian cricket team wicket-keeper batter Adam Gilchrist.
“When we (India) won the world cup in 1983, it was a 60 overs (per side) game. It changed to 50 overs (per side). You’ve got to evolve with the time. The attention time of a spectator is diminishing,” he added.
Shastri went on to suggest that the attention span of the modern spectators have grown shorter and as a result, a 40-over match can end up boosting the enthusiasm around the format.
“The way forward would be a 40-over game which would still keep the one-day format on par with the other formats. I see it with the crowd. They wait to see what happens at the toss,” he suggested and added, “If their (a fan’s) favourite team is batting, they will rush to the ground, will watch 10 or 15 overs of the second innings and they’re off. If it’s the other way around – India batting second, it’s hot. I am going to ground at 5 o’clock to see the last 10-12 overs of the first innings and then I want to see my team bat.”
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