Ravi Shastri asks Indian batters to leave back ‘driver’s licence’ on away tours: Bharat Arun

It’s happy times in Indian cricket. On Monday, Virat Kohli’s men became the first Asian bunch in history to defeat Australia in a Test series on their turf when they won the just-concluded series 2-1. Cheteshwar Pujara scored over 500 runs in the series that included three hundreds while Jasprit Bumrah took 21 wickets displaying the balanced performance the team came up with in the four-game series. On Tuesday, India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun revealed how the coaches laid out their plans for the Australia series.

It was Shastri’s second overseas Test series win since he took over as the coach in 2017. The coach came under heavy criticism after India lost the two away series in South Africa and England last year. After Kohli’s men reversed the trend in Australia, he said the victory was perhaps even bigger than the World Cup win in 1983 and the World Championship of Cricket win in Australia two years later.

Speaking to India Today exclusively, Arun revealed that Shastri often asks the Indian batsmen to leave their ‘driver’s licence’ back home when going on an away tour so that they did not fall into traps. In the bowling department, he said the Indian fast bowlers were asked to bowl specific lengths to the Australian batters ahead of this tour so that they did not get enough opportunity to cut and pull regularly.

“As Ravi Bhai would always tell this team… ‘leave your driver’s license at home when you come to play for India’. When we came to Australia, he insisted that the Australians are very good on their cut and pull… we are not going to give them any shots to play,” Arun was quoted as saying.

‘Pace bowlers’ fitness helped them to become successful’

Arun, a former India cricketer, also lauded the fast bowlers for their fitness that helped them achieve success. He also said the team members’ willingness to enjoy each other’s success was its driving force. The Indian pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami hunted in pack and had a very successful 2018 when India played most of their Tests abroad.

Although India could not win enough Tests abroad last year (four out of 11), the troika picked up 20 opponent wickets on most occasions. They claimed 136 scalps in union in 2018, bettering the 1984 record of legendary Windies trio of Joel Garner, Michael Holding and Malcolm Marshall who took 130 wickets in that calendar year.

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