Shastri: 'I matured immensely in the last two weeks'

"I have matured since I last went to Sri Lanka and I have matured immensely in the last two weeks. So mine will be a refresh button that will be pushed. I carry on from where I left. I don’t come with any baggage," Shastri said.

Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri attends a press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Ravi Shastri’s remarks at the ten-minute press conference could be put down as matter-of-fact, brusque or just the way he is used to talking. "These Ravi Shastris, Anil Kumbles will come and go. But the fabric of Indian cricket will remain, and the credit should go to everyone who has participated in the Indian team in the last three years. If they are No. 1 today, it is (because of the) efforts they have put in over the three years. People like us will come and go,’’ Shastri declared in a stentorian tone adding that,  "I have matured since I last went to Sri Lanka and I have matured immensely in the last two weeks. So mine will be a refresh button that will be pushed. I carry on from where I left. I don’t come with any baggage.’’ 

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When asked what it felt like to have his own team, Shastri said: "I will answer that same question wearing two hats, and I promise you there is no conflict of interest here. One as a player and as a former captain:  When you play the game, you want your mind to be clear. You want to be able to focus inwards without a care in the world for anything on the outside and that happens with good communication with the support staff.

 

"Now I will go on the other side as the head coach: My job is to do exactly that for every player, to put him in a frame of mind only about his role, he is thinking about the team that he is playing for and of course the opposition which we always respect and that is his job. Period. "

Talking about Bharat Arun, who is part of the coaching staff at his behest, Shastri said: "There is a track record of 15 years (of) his life in coaching. It has been outstanding. Right from junior level to ‘A’ teams to India junior World Cup teams, he has been part of it. He knows these boys better than I do because he has been in the system for the last 15 years. You look at the last World Cup —  India took 77 out of 80 wickets. If it was someone else who had played a lot of Test matches, you would have put him on the top of the tree. So I don’t need to elaborate too much on what he is good at, what his strengths are. It is there for everyone to see.’’