Ravi Shastri has a message for the International Cricket Council (ICC) — “Please don’t shift the goalpost.”

The ICC, last November, had altered the World Test Championship (WTC) points system owing to the disruption of international cricket caused by Covid-19 pandemic, which meant percentage points would determine the finalists. That saw India, who then were at the top of the table in terms of points, suddenly drop to No.3. Understandably, India and head coach Shastri were not amused.

The road to the WTC final became treacherous for Virat Kohli’s team and it was only after they recorded back-to-back series victories against Australia (away) and England (home) that they managed to finish at the top of the WTC table and qualify for the final.

“If you ask me about the problems in this first cycle, I would say please don’t shift the goalpost,” Shastri stated during Sunday’s virtual media conference.

“I’m sitting at home during Covid in the month of October or November. You’ve got more points than any other team in the world — 360 at that time. Suddenly, a week later without playing cricket, there’s some rule that says, ‘We’re going to go on percentage system’, and you go from No.1 to No.3 in a week.

“Fine, that’s because of countries in the red zone not wanting to travel. Now I want to understand the logic behind this. Because, what is the way forward for me?” Shastri asked.

Explaining further, he said: “Sitting on top of the table, comfortably leading by 60-70 points… but they say, ‘No , you have to go to Australia and beat Australia’. But how many teams in the last 10 years have gone to Australia and could guarantee they would beat Australia?

“If you don’t beat Australia, you come back home and beat England 4-0. You get close to 500 points and you still don’t qualify. So we’ve had to dig deep and go down every hole that was needed to find water, and we found it. And earned our stripes to be in the final of the Test Championship — the biggest trophy in the world — with 520 points. So first, address this cycle.”

For the record, India finished the league phase of WTC with 100 points more than second-placed New Zealand.

Bubble life has been tough on the players for the last five months, but that has been a blessing in terms of team bonding, Shastri emphasised. “There’s no choice. There are restricted team areas, so you can’t go out and meet anyone, and the same exists now.

“And when you meet more often, somewhere down the line, there will be conversations regarding the game, which used to happen in our time. Like when you finished the game, you would still be sitting in the dressing room for a good hour talking cricket.

“So I think the best thing that has happened is talking cricket amongst the team members and they had no choice, so they were forced to do it and that has been a big help,” he said.
“They have started to understand each others’ background, mental state, where they come from, where they are in life, settled, unsettled.”

Along with the stars, youngsters too played a pivotal role in the success India have had over the last three-four months. And Washington Sundar, Shastri thinks, can play an all-rounder’s role similar to his, especially in overseas conditions.

‘Memes a banter’

The social media memes on him have no bearing whatsoever, as for the former India captain, they are just “banter”. “They do it to have fun at my expense. Fine. Kya farq padhta hai yaar (How does it matter buddy)?

“Main nimbu paani peeyu ya milk and honey (Whether I drink lemonade or milk and honey), you enjoy your drink,” was Shastri’s smart response.

“And criticism? What’s that. You know how quickly people change their opinions. So shanti rakho (keep calm). Om Shanti Om.”