A couple of years back in time, the Indian team was down in the dumps. There was blame game, there were reactions. Not just was the team blamed for the shameful losses, the media was blamed too. Things were so bad, that the BCCI thought of wives being a disturbance, so much, that there were no longer allowed to be a part of the contingent.
Wives apart, girlfriends became an eyesore, in particular the ones that held a celebrity status. Players were treated like rubbish, their homes were vandalised and their effigies were burnt. Indian cricket was heading towards a low. The older players had left a void which the younger ones were struggling to fill. It was chaotic.
That’s when Ravi Shastri arrived. He was appointed as the Team Director and things have been better since then. No, seriously. As soon as he took over, it looked like there would be ego clashes between the coach, the captain and the new team director, but it was smooth sail. The troubles began to vanish slowly and the Indian team managed to grapple its way out of the quicksand it had got itself into.
Even though there was no immediate 360-degree change, yet, it was certain that Shastri had some kind of magic wand — understanding the players, reading the opposition, strategizing, socialising — he was doing it all, and doing it well.
Now his term as ‘director’ has been extended till the World Cup in 2016. This means a whole lot of things. Firstly, the kind of trust the BCCI is showering on him isn’t unnatural. But why call him director, why not the coach? Are they scared that the designation change will jinx it? Second, what if the new coach isn’t able to adjust? What will happen then? What does the team feel about it?
Either way, Shastri is an intelligent man and an even more intelligent former cricketer. His magic wand is something we can’t afford to lose now.