Australia vs India 2018/19: Has Ravi Shastri lost the plot?

(The opinions expressed are author's own and does not necessarily reflect Sportskeeda stand on the same.)

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Mentors are meant to be humble, down to earth and normally a breed who are termed as introverts when it comes to media management. The current Indian coach Ravi Shastri seems to have carry forwarded his commentary genes into his current seat. It is good to be known as someone who does not mince words. Yes, correct – we are talking about words but these words should have a rhyme and a reason. It should make sense.

Having served and serving Indian cricket for decades now – the comparison between the present generation and the past was actually a funny one. You cannot demean the fraternity only because you are meant to stand by the bunch of 15 folks. It sparked huge criticism from Ganguly and Gavaskar. They were right. In one statement, Shastri demeaned multiple decades of Indian cricket.

In the ongoing series down under, he went on to say that it is easy to fire blanks when you are miles away. Was this a threat? Was this his bossy attitude? Was this an act of ignorance? I don’t know. It was funny. Ganguly on record has gone on to say, "don't interview him in the morning, do it in the evening he will be able to recall things better."

The charm and maturity has been lost. Shastri has to realise that he is not a spokesperson of a political party. His role scopes out much more. He seems to be living in his own fairytale world ignoring the fact which the word terms as humility or learning. How can you expect a team to reflect back and learn from mistakes when you perceive that everything is right?

His statements alarm another concrete statement that his role is a dummy one.

He was partying in Thailand when Anil Kumble was given the role. He came hard at Sourav Ganguly. Does it not show that he was too relaxed and did not respect the coveted position of an Indian cricket team coach?

Coach is someone whose job is to provide correction points, help the players connect dots in terms of technique or provide mental conditioning in terms of stress. Shastri is actually adding stress. Every other moment he speaks, if reflects sheer arrogance. Backing up the team and an individual is the best act but the way he is channelizing it is making him a laughing stock.

Having won almost nothing, he went on to say that this current Indian team is the best travelling team.

Shastri is certainly not doing or adhering to his actual to do’s. He is just proving content. The takers are stand-up comedians, media and the fraternity. It would be a bit harsh but he is portraying himself as a drunk lost soul.

He has given tons to Indian cricket in his various roles. However, he seems to have lost the track by a huge margin in his current role.