‘Shardul smiled coyly and said, Yes, sir’ – Ex India fielding recalls time when Thakur lied to Shastri
Ravi Shastri, Shardul Thakur (Image Credit: Twitter)
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri was a busy man during the fifth day of the Sydney Test 2021. The team needed more than 300 runs to win the game ahead of the start of play. The likes of Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara were looking like winning the game. However, when the duo got out, the visitors needed a pair of batters who could play out for a draw.
After all, Ravindra Jadeja was injured and couldn’t have played even though he was padded up. Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari, who were batting in the middle were injured too. They were trying to fight their way to a draw for the team. Shastri wanted to send them on how to bat in the last session of the game.
“Vihari and Ashwin came in at tea, and while we converged to congratulate and encourage them, a tactical call was also made. Vihari had pulled his hamstring and was not able to play Lyon convincingly because his movements were restricted. He couldn’t put in the good, long stride. Ashwin, meanwhile, was being subjected to a bouncer barrage from the quicks. So, it was decided that Ashwin, at home against Lyon, would take on the off-spinner and Vihari would negotiate the three-pronged pace attack,” Sridhar wrote.
“After having stuck to their respective ends of the bargain, for some strange reason, they took a single, which exposed Vihari to Lyon and Ashwin to the fast men.”
Ravi Shastri asked Shardul Thakur to send a message but the latter got it wrong: R Sridhar
The 1983 World Cup winners asked Thakur to ask Ashwin to face Nathan Lyon and Vihari to face the pacers. However, the Mumbai player, Thakur forgot the message and told them to play the way they were playing.
‘Listen to me very carefully, and repeat this to them: No matter what happens, Vihari will handle the fast bowlers, Ashwin will play Lyon. No singles, no change of ends, period. Got it?’Shardul smiled coyly and said, ‘Yes, sir’, and charged to the middle with a bottle of water for Ashwin,” Sridhar added.
“After exchanging a few words with the two batters, he ran back in. ‘Did you pass on my message?’ Ravi growled. ‘Yes, sir, of course, Shardul replied.
