“He would say things that drove you mad” – Ishant Sharma recalls how Ravi Shastri would go an extra mile to motivate the players

When Ravi Shastri operated as the head coach of the Indian cricket team, Virat Kohli was serving as a captain. The team might not have added silverware to their trophy cabinet but won significant matches when the odds were against them.

Back then, when India were slammed for not churning out a series-winning result against Australia on Australian soil, Team India approached the series with a different perspective and reaped rewards.

Not once but twice India won the Test series in Australia, which is quite a magnificent achievement. Apart from that, India also went on to win the ODI series in South Africa for the first time in history.

Ishant Sharma recalls how Ravi Shastri would go an additional mile to inspire the players

Meanwhile, India’s veteran paceman Ishant Sharma, while speaking on the Cricbuzz Specials Show ‘The Rise of New India’ reserved the highest respect for Ravi Shastri for the way he functioned as a chief coach back then.

The experienced campaigner added that Shastri had a lot of impact on the players’ growth. Despite the fact that India ran through poor results, Shastri would still have positive things to say.

Ishant Sharma also went on to recall how Shastri would even go the extra mile to motivate the players. He echoed that the former India coach literally knows how to bring the best out of the players.

Talking about the same, he gave an example citing himself. Ishant added that like him, Ravi Shastri knows that if he has to make him give a hundred per cent effort, then he needs to get angry. As a result, Shastri would say things that hurt, pinch and drive the pacer mad.

Ishant Sharma is one of the most successful fast bowlers for India in Test cricket. He is the only second Indian pacer to play more than 100 Tests. He took 311 wickets to his name in red ball cricket.