'Javed Miandad had no chance of getting the Audi'- Ravi Shastri on his rivalry with Pakistan great

Amid lockdown, the cricketers are spending most of their time on social media platforms. The players have also introduced a new trend of conducting live and candid sessions with their teammates and fans. Earlier players like Rohit Sharma, Kevin Pietersen, Yuzvendra Chahal and others were involved in the same.

Now, Ravi Shastri, the current head coach also joined the bandwagon, who was indulged in a live session with a renowned media house. During the interaction, he revealed some important facts from the 1985 Benson & Hedges World Championship.

In 1985, Sunil Gavaskar and Co. defeated Pakistan in the final of that championship by a margin of eight wickets in Melbourne. In that tournament, Ravi Shastri performed exceedingly well with the bat and ball that helped Team India in getting their hands on the prestigious trophy. He scored 182 runs and grabbed eight wickets in his five appearances.

Ravi Shastri shares his best memory from 1985 Benson & Hedges World Championship

In the live Facebook interaction with  Sony Sports on Tuesday, the sports journalist Rajdeep Sardesai asked questions to Shastri revolving around the 1985 Benson & Hedges World Championship only. He asked the 57-year-old if Team India in 1985 could have any day given the current Virat Kohli-led side “a run for their money.”

To which, the former player replied in the affirmation and said that if any team from the past in the white-ball cricket can do so then it will be the side of 1985, “Yeah, no question about that. Take any team that India puts up in white-ball cricket, the best of what it has to put out, the team of ’85 will give that team a run for their money.”

He was also asked to share some fond memories from that tournament. He quickly responded to that question and said that stuffing Pakistan in the final is his one of the favourite memories from that tournament.

Shastri also added that Javed Miandad, the legendary batsman from Pakistan also had his eyes set on the Player of the Tournament trophy but he had no chance of winning it. As per him, he always tried to poke the opposition with his words, “Javed had no chance of getting the Audi. He would try to get under your skin on the field.”

Meanwhile, he also picked New Zealand as the strongest side in that tournament. He added that they never had big players like other teams. But, they were always known for giving more than their best on the field, “New Zealand was a fantastic team. They might not have the superstars but they are always a team known for punching much above their weights. We had to play our A-game in the semifinals to beat them.”