"A lot of these players are at their prime " - Ravi Shastri on India being amongst top three teams across formats

Former Team India coach Ravi Shastri has dissected the national team's rankings and their consistency. The former all-rounder believes the Indian players are battle-hardened and are well-versed across formats, enabling them to play according to the situation.

India recently pipped Australia at the top of the Test rankings and will play the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against the same opposition. The Men in Blue are also second in the ODI rankings and first in T20Is.

Speaking on the latest episode of the ICC Review, Shastri underlined that plenty of players are at the prime of their careers and have played around the world, they are getting the relevant experience. He said:

"It's a tribute to their consistency, their fitness and the way they've worked over the last five or six years to now be hungry and proud of wanting to belong there. It's the quality of players. If you look at these players, a lot of these players are at their prime when you look at the Indian Test side."

The 61-year-old added:

"They're experienced, they're at that age where they're battle-hardened, they've travelled around the world. They know what Test cricket is all about, they know what one-day cricket is all about, they know what T20 cricket is all about."

While India have been dominant at home in Test cricket, they have been equally competitive overseas. India registered twin series victories in Australia and drew the most recent series in England.

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"Every coach, no matter who he is, wants his team to be in that top two or three" - Ravi Shastri

When asked whether rankings carried any weightage for him as India's coach, Ravi Shastri said every team strives to play to be at the top of the rankings. he stated:

"It mattered a lot to me. To be in that top two or three was extremely important and you looked at the rankings and if you knew you were four or five, then that upsets you because your team deserves to be in the top two or three, or that's what you strive or play for. Every coach, no matter who he is, wants his team to be in that top two or three...it was my endeavour when I took over as coach of India...to bring it into that top two or three."

India lost the previous WTC final two years ago against New Zealand and will be determined to capture the mace this time around.