Dropping a major hint about his return as a head coach, former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri recalled his bitter-sweet stint with the senior men's cricket team in his freewheeling chat with Rajasthan Royals superstar - Ravichandran Ashwin. Under Shastri's watch, India became the first Asian team to defeat the Baggy Greens in Australia in the 2018-19 Test series. Shastri-coached Team India repeated the incredible feat by outclassing Australia in 2021. The former India cricketer coached the men’s senior team from 2017 to 2021.

Shastri's Team India contested the final of the inaugural World Test Championship against New Zealand. India also made it to the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup. Replacing legendary cricketer Anil Kumble in 2017, Shastri was succeeded by Rahul Dravid, who was appointed the India head coach on a two-year term in 2021. After ending his seven-year association with the Indian team, Shastri returned to the commentary box for domestic cricket's biggest extravaganza - the Indian Premier League.

'You never know what can come up'

In a conversation with Rajasthan Royals all-rounder R Ashwin on his YouTube channel, Shastri was quizzed about taking up a coaching job in the IPL. "Not really. Not after doing India for seven years. You never know what can come up in the future and how involved you might want to get," Shastri said. The former India head coach also backed the Impact Player rule in the IPL, which has received sharp criticism from a host of players during the 2024 season.

"You know, there is no doubting the experience you have and what you can bring to the table, but after 7 years with the Indian team, especially those times when you were there, the toughest time that game has seen since the World War II, during Covid, quarantine and the bubbles, you just wanted ta break from the dugout, the dressing room and everything. The broadcasting and the mic gave me the freedom to express myself again. And have some fun," Shastri added.

Shastri's record as India head coach

Out of 46 Test matches, India won 28 with coach Shastri at the helm. Shastri's win percentage was 60.87 as the head coach of the Indian team in the longest and oldest format of the game. Ex-India head coach Shastri is followed by John Wright (21 Test wins from 52 games), Gay Kirsten (16 Test wins from 52 games), Duncan Fletcher (13 Test wins from 39 games) and Kumble, who had 12 Test wins from 17 games.

"You don't rule that out. Once you have been involved with the game and played the game and you wanted to contribute to the youth, then that will always linger in your mind. It's not just the money part of it, but also the contributing factor. How you can get into the heads of the young kids and pass on the knowledge you have before you forget it yourself. If I ever go there, it will be precisely for that reason," Shastri explained.

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