However, Shastri acknowledged that Pakistan has significantly closed the gap in recent years. “Having said that, Pakistan have narrowed the gap. Seven-eight years [ago], there was a gap if you looked at the strength of both teams and man to man. But Pakistan have narrowed it down. They are a very good side, so you have to be on top of your game,” he observed.

Jasprit Bumrah’s return to fitness will see him leading a rejuvenated Indian team in a three-match T20 series against Ireland, commencing in Dublin on Friday. However, a more formidable test awaits Rohit Sharma’s squad in the form of the Asia Cup, set to commence in Multan on August 30. It is worth noting that India’s matches in the Asia Cup will unfold in Sri Lanka, amplifying the competition’s intensity.

Delhi Capitals have lost their first five matches in this year’s IPL. The morale of the players has also gone down. Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag was responsible for such a situation in Delhi. This time Delhi’s director Sourav Ganguly was punched by former Indian coach Ravi Shastri. What could be worse for a franchise than Mustafizur Rahman’s Delhi Capitals? The team has lost all five matches in this year’s IPL. Who is responsible for this? Players or coaches? Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag thinks that the reason for such a situation in Delhi is the team’s head coach and cricket director. Ravi Shastri punched Sourav.

Shastri took a jab at Sourav Ganguly while on commentary during the match against Bengaluru on Saturday (April 15). The former coach of India said, ‘It is one thing to lose by fighting, it is another thing to be ignored by the opponent. Former board president Sourav Ganguly’s team’s losses are not exactly losses, they are hammered. He should leave the dugout and go upstairs. Of course, he should think about it. Shastri thinks that Delhi’s situation is due to the captain and head coach of the team. Shastri said, ‘Delhi’s problem is that their head coach Ponting and captain Warner do not have the habit of losing. They cannot find a way to win as they are losing consecutively. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals have already been knocked out of the tournament after losing the season’s first five matches. Shastri thinks that Delhi’s situation is due to the captain and head coach of the team. Shastri said, ‘Delhi’s problem is that their head coach Ponting and captain Warner do not have the habit of losing. They cannot find a way to win as they are losing consecutively. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals have already been knocked out of the tournament after losing the season’s first five matches.

Gujarat Titans batsman Vijay Shankar was being praised till the 19th over of the second innings in the 13th match of IPL 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. He played an inning of 63 runs off 24 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders. However, all the limelight was later grabbed by Kolkata batsman Rinku Singh as he hit five consecutive sixes in the last over to secure the win for the team. Meanwhile, a statement from Team India’s former head coach Ravi Shastri has surfaced, in which he has once again backed Vijay Shankar’s selection for the 2019 World Cup.
Vijay Shankar was selected in the Indian squad for the ODI 2019 World Cup and Ambati Rayudu was left out. The selectors’ reasoning behind his selection was that he is a 3D player. But he couldn’t do much and got knocked out of the tournament due to an injury. After that, he did not get a chance in international cricket but remained active in domestic cricket. He also had an operation during this time. However, Vijay Shankar’s election has always been a matter of discussion. The team management has certainly supported it, so Ravi Shastri has supported Vijay Shankar’s selection to date.

Ravi Shastri, who was commentating during Gujarat vs Kolkata match on Sunday, told Star Sports, “It is true that Vijay Shankar was selected for the World Cup because of the kind of talent he had and I’m glad he was part of the team. He worked hard and never gave up. You know he went through a tough time. He also had an operation, but he came back stronger.” Vijay Shankar had some clean hits in the last few overs against Kolkata. He played unbeaten innings of 63 runs in this match.

Ravi Shastri added, ‘I saw beautiful hitting from him today. He is a clean striker of the ball. He can hit big shots. Due to his body structure and height, he can hit the ball very far. It looks good. That is the strength of Gujarat Titans. They have several power hitters at the end of the innings. So if they start well, they can be very dangerous at the end of the innings. Vijay Shankar may be far away from making a comeback to the Indian team at present. But it is hoped that he too can return to the Indian team. But for that, he needs to play some more strong innings in the current IPL. Only then will he be able to knock on the doors of the Indian team?’

Chasing a target of 240 runs against New Zealand in the semi-final of the 2019 ODI World Cup held in England, India left the tournament after being bowled out for 222 runs. India’s star opener Rohit Sharma publicly clashed with captain Virat Kohli due to his poor performance in the World Cup. The issue of these two Indian stars’ heartbreak has been discussed on social media and in the media.
Former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri was the head coach of India at that time. R Sridhar served as fielding coach.

Indian fielding coach Sridhar wrote about the conflict between Kohli and Rohit in his book ‘Coaching Beyond: My Days with the Indian Cricket Team’. After India’s elimination from the 2019 World Cup semi-finals, there was a stir in the media about the Kohli-Rohit conflict. Then it was revealed that Virat-Rohit had unfollowed each other. Such incidents are enough to shake the national team.
He also writes – Within ten days of the end of that World Cup, India went to the United States to play a T20 series against the West Indies. On the tour of England, Indian coach Ravi Shastri called Rohit-Kohil into his hotel room and explained how dangerous the conflict could be for the national team.

Ravi Shastri’s message was obvious – ‘What is happening on social media is okay. But you two are senior cricketers. This conflict must be stopped. Sridhar said that since that incident, the relationship between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma has improved. Shastri was able to make a decision very quickly. By sitting the two together, Shastri covered up the entire incident without wasting time in conversation.

Ruturaj surpassed these two too. In the quarter-final match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Ruturaj played a devastating inning of 220 runs off 159 balls against Uttar Pradesh. He was in an aggressive mood from the beginning when he came out to open. He hit 10 fours and 16 sixes in his unbeaten innings. Left-arm spinner Shiva Singh hit seven sixes in the 49th over.

Ruturaj sent the first four balls of that over out of the field. Shiva made the fifth ball. The next ball took advantage of the free-hit opportunity and hit it again for a six. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s IPL teammate has set a new world record in List A cricket by hitting seven sixes in seven consecutive balls. This is the first time in world cricket that 7 sixes have been hit in an over.

There have been several instances of hitting six sixes in six balls both domestically and internationally. India’s Ravi Shastri hit six sixes in the domestic circuit. Yuvraj Singh hit six sixes in the first six balls of international cricket. West Indies’ Sir Gary Sobers, Kieron Pollard, South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs, and American Jaskaran Malhotra hit six sixes in an over.

A tough challenge awaits him in the first match. India’s campaign to retain the title will have to begin with a match against arch-rivals Pakistan. Former players of both countries have been arguing about this match for several days. On Tuesday organized by Star Sports, former Indian all-rounder Shastri said, “Kohli should find himself with this match.”

He hopes that Kohli will calm down after a long time, as the wave of criticism against him has stopped for now. He was out of the field. Now all he has to do is get back into the groove. If he scores a fifty in the first match of the Asia Cup, critics will be silenced for the rest of the tournament.

Shastri said, “What happened before is now history. Remember, human memory is fleeting. And it can be both (good and bad). Now is his chance to take advantage of the current calm and move forward one day at a time.” Kohli has not scored a century in any edition of international cricket since November 2019. He has scored only one fifty in the last 12 Test innings. ODIs and T20s have also suffered in recent times. Shastri believes that Kohli, who is going through a tough time, will get many runs soon.

In order to keep ODI cricket alive, Shahid Afridi also said that ODI cricket can be reduced to 40 overs instead of 50 overs. Afridi recently spoke to Pakistan’s Samaa TV about Ben Stokes‘ departure from ODI cricket. That’s where he suggested it.

“One-day cricket has become a lot more monotonous now. I would say to bring down ODI cricket from 50 overs to 40 overs. This will make it more interesting and entertaining. ’

Afridi’s teammate Wasim Akram said that one-day cricket is now in shambles. According to Shastri, one-day cricket is being crushed under the pressure of Test and T20. After such comments by Wasim, Shastri, and Ashwin, there has been a storm of discussion. Shastri, however, had earlier given a suggestion to keep ONE-day cricket alive, that there should be more emphasis on the World Cup, make the World Cup more attractive.

Akash Chopra feels that the once exciting ODI cricket is now meaningless in the age of T20.

This time Shastri has combined his voice with Afridi’s words. During the second ODI between India and West Indies, Shastri said, “There is no harm in reducing the length of the match. When ODI cricket started, it was 60 overs. When we won the World Cup in 1983, ODI cricket was still 60 overs.

Shastri said, ‘Officials thought that 60 overs is a bit long. It turned out that the time from 20 to 40 overs was a bit boring. Because of this, they brought it down from 60 to 50 overs. Many years have passed since then. Now, why can’t it be reduced from 50 to 40 overs!’