"You can win a lot of World Cups in all three formats" - Former India coach explains how Men in Blue can improve further amid Asia Cup 2025

Former India coach Ravi Shastri has said that the present team had the potential to win a World Cup in all three formats. The 63-year-old said that the Men in Blue needed to focus on fast bowling and if they can prepare a bench strength of quicks, then the team could dominate across formats in the next five-to-six years.

Shastri was the head coach when India produced a pool of fast bowlers that included the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj. He told Sony Sports:

“I think they should take care of the fast bowling department. Take a lot of care in that area. Because if that area clicks, then you can win a lot of World Cups in all three formats. The white-ball teams are still very strong, which can win World Cups. They won the T20 World Cup (in 2024), and in the next 6-7 years, we can win more.”

“But to remain number one in Test cricket, if the fast bowling department can be readied, if we can look into the reserve bench strength, then this Indian team in the next 5-6 years will dominate in all three formats”.

During Ravi Shastri's tenure, India's fast bowling group played an instrumental role in winning twin tours of Australia. They also played a key role in India taking a 2-1 series lead in England in 2021.

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Ravi Shastri admits he's a fan of left-hand-right-hand combination in the batting order

Former India coach Ravi Shastri said that he was a fan of the left-hand-right-hand combination in the batting order. He cited the example of the 2011 ODI World Cup winning squad, saying that the presence of left-handers in the batting line-up made a big difference. Shastri said:

"I am a big fan of the right-hand-left-hand combination. You look at the 2011 World Cup win. There was Suresh Raina there. There was Gautam Gambhir there. There was Yuvraj Singh there. So, that makes a lot of difference. When you have shot makers like Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma at the top, and Shivam Dube below them, and then Axar Patel after them, then this becomes a very dangerous side, and it won’t be easy for other teams to beat them."

"The mix that was needed has now come. I feel that during my time, we were short of the odd left-handed batter and a batter who could bowl at the top that wasn’t there. There are a lot of all-rounders now”.

Ravi Shastri's thought process of having a left-right combination aligns with current head coach Gautam Gambhir's thought process. Since the latter took over in July 2024, there has been an emphasis on having a left-right combination in the batting order.