Sourav Ganguly not pleased with Ravi Shastri's role as coach of Team India

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly still continues to express his disappointment at head coach Ravi Shastri‘s role in the Indian Cricket Team. Ravi Shastri was appointed as coach of Team India after skipper Virat Kohli and former coach Anil Kumble reportedly did not get along, which forced Kumble to quit his job. However, India enjoyed considerable success under Kumble’s tenure as coach.

India have since had Ravi Shastri as their coach, and have now suffered two overseas defeats in Test series against South Africa and England. The scoreline in England was particularly disappointing – India lost the 5-match series 1-4 – but India had nevertheless several positives to take from the series, notably Virat Kohli‘s dominance with the bat, and the way the fast bowlers outperformed their English counterparts.

However, Ravi Shastri, despite the losses, has insisted that India are the best travelling team in the last 15-20 years, a statement for which he has faced much flak. Sourav Ganguly hasn’t been very pleased with the way Shastri has managed the team either.

Coach has to take a back seat: Ganguly

According to Ganguly, cricket is a ‘captain’s game’, unlike football where the coach is the one handling operations. In cricket, the coach should take a ‘back seat’ feels Ganguly.

“[Cricket] is not like football,” he said. “A lot of current cricket coaches think that they are going to run a cricket team like a football team, but cricket is a captain’s game and coach has to take a backseat and that is important.”

When asked what is the best advice he had received during his career, Ganguly said, “Never pick a coach.” Sourav Ganguly had an infamous fallout with Australia’s Greg Chappell, who coached India between 2005 and 2007. Chappell was known for his unorthodox coaching techniques as well as his comments, which did not go down well with the Indian public. Chappell eventually resigned after India crashed out of the 2007 World Cup in the first round.

Ravi Shastri is currently with the Indian team in the UAE who are defending their Asia Cup title. India are already through to the final, and will play either of Bangladesh or Pakistan on Friday.

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