CHENNAI: The farewell was not supposed to be like this. This isn't what Ravi Shastri, leave alone the head coach, the persona would have wanted. He has always loved going the distance, often being the last man standing at parties, always on the lookout for more. It was how he was as a head coach too, especially during his second stint with Team India. After seeing through the transition period during his first tenure between 2014-2016 (when he was team director), he wanted to see the team become world beaters.
The T20 World Cup was seen as the ideal send-off for one of India's most decorated coach-captain combination. Throughout their tenure, despite the numerous highs in bilateral series, an ICC trophy has eluded them and for a duo who have constantly spoken about challenging and beating the best, this tournament doesn't do justice to it. It is perhaps the lowest of their tenure. And one that no one saw coming. The 2018 England series defeat still hurts Shastri, and this will no doubt ache as much.
After Greg Chappell, no other Indian coach polarized opinions as much as Shastri, who took over as coach in 2017. In a world dominated by social media trends, he was just one defeat away from becoming a meme material. Post Gary Kirsten, India hasn't had a good, if not better, man-manager than Shastri. He knew when to take a step back and when to pick the right moments to send a strong message or two. For a coach who was handpicked by the captain himself and has often been criticised for it, other players will vouch how much his presence, especially during tough days, took the pressure off them. He didn't mind being the punching bag as long as the team did well.
“When I took this job, I said in my mind, 'I want to make a difference' and I think I have. It's unfortunate we are out of this tournament but that takes nothing away from this great side,” Shastri told Star Sports before the final group game against Namibia. “I would say winning in red-ball cricket across the globe — in West Indies, Sri Lanka, Australia, England, we're leading the series, it could be the longest lead in the history of cricket because the next Test is next year but I'll take that.”
For all the talk of how Shastri got what he wanted during the time of the Committee of Administrators, he and his support staff Bharat Arun and R Sridhar have led the team to success in Australia, West Indies, Sri Lanka and England (albeit with a Test to go). For a team that struggled to have a reliable third pacer on tours, they now have abundance of riches and in Australia and England, even outbowled opponents.
As his reign comes to an end, it is a tale of two halves. On one side, Shastri leaves behind a Test side that is easily the best India have had. However, in ODIs and T20Is, the team never played to their potential in ICC events. While a first limited-overs series win in South Africa and T20I series in Australia and New Zealand were definitely huge, an undercooked middle order put paid to their hopes of winning the 50-over World Cup, the pinnacle of the white-ball.
But in the end, when Shastri said “all I can think first of is rest,” all you could do was raise a toast.