Ravi Shastri Biography: You might know him as one of the best all-rounder, cricket coach or commentator alongside, but Ravi Shastri and his connection with cricket are way beyond what we can see or hear about, nowadays. Even though he is in news recently for his coaching stint with the Indian national team whilst making them reaching newer heights with every day coming, Ravi Shastri has much more to offer from his kitty of exceptional cricket knowledge and expertise to the cricket fraternity around.
This 6-foot 3-inch tall man once used to be the stalwart of the Indian batting and he was one of those unsung heroes from the world cup 1983 glory, which didn’t been able to get the limelight as per their credibility. Still, Shastri was that one man, who was always been trusted by his captain with both bat and left-arm spin bowling at most crucial junctures for the team.
Ravi Shastri and his Passion towards Cricket at an Early Age
Ravi Shastri Biography: Ravi Shastri was born on 27 May 1962 in Mumbai and his family did have a Mangalorean touch because of their connection with the same place. From within his childhood only, Shastri was keen towards his passion towards cricket and this was the same reason he started his schooling form the Don Bosco school high school in the Mumbai city only.
Shastri was a talented cricketer from the start and his skill set in the same sport came to picture during his childhood whilst he started playing lots of cricket in his schooldays only in many junior levels tournament. He received his initial coaching from former Tatas and Dadar union player, BD Desai. Lately, he joined the famous RA Poddar College which was famous for its cricket infrastructure and sports facilities. This was the same college which has earlier produced some of the most renowned cricketers in the Indian cricket history. Moreover, names like VS Patil and Vasant Amladi have been accredited for Shastri’s development as a junior cricketer.
Ravi Shastri Biography – Entering into Indian Domestic Circuit
Ravi Shastri Biography: While he was doing some great wonders in the junior level cricket, he was finally selected for the Bombay Ranji team at a tender age of just 17 years. He also got his first chance in the under 19 teams whilst being included in the training camp right at the last minute for a team which was about to tour Pakistan in 1980. Shastri was been asked to captain the side for the first few games but unfortunately, the tour didn’t go ahead as per the schedule. Again he led the U19 team for the Sri Lankan tour but those matches also got interrupted by Rain eventually.
Shastri’s domestic career in the Indian circuit was no that impressive though as his only impressive performance came against the eta of Delhi in the 1979 Ranji Trophy finals where he took 6 wickets for his team whilst giving away just 61 runs in the first innings. Even after his heroics with the bowling, Mumbai team lost the match but Shastri still was been able to attract the attention of the selectors in the same context.
Ravi Shastri Biography – Kick Starting his International Career
Ravi Shastri Biography: Ravi Shastri was first included in the Indian team for the tour of New Zealand as a left-arm spin bowler after their main spinner Dilip Doshi went down to the injury before the tour. No one knew that this tall, flamboyant guy would get promoted from number 10 to the opening slot in no time and that was something which kick-started his International career in the right gear. You could’ve found him going all defences in that era and suddenly he will be seen hitting them out of the park as well. That was some special talent which Shastri always carried throughout his cricketing career.
He was been quoted as the “Big player for the big games” and his performance against the top flight sides like England, Pakistan, and Australia certainly sums up the talent he possessed. He scored seven out of eleven of his centuries outside India and this was a record that every Indian player must be proud of. Whilst going through his captaincy role, he has led the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Vengasarkar and even Mohammed Azharuddin during his career.
Ravi Shastri Biography – The Golden Era of his Career
Ravi Shastri Biography: By the year 1985, Ravi Shastri was an established player in the Indian but even he didn’t know that something special was about to come forward in the coming times. The 1985 world championship was something special in many regards as it was one of those tournaments which were been telecasted in India and also mark the inception of the ODI cricket in the format which we are used to witnessing nowadays (all the colour kits and flashy lights around).
That was the time when the Indian team was coming out of a heavy defeat at the hands of the mighty West Indian team whom they first defeated in the World cup finals. Suddenly, everyone was talking about their performance in the World cup as a “Fluke”. This was the moment when they have to prove their prowess and Indian team along with Shastri did right that across the whole tournament. Not only Ravi Shastri emerged out as the standout perfumer of the whole series, but he also led India to the title glory amidst the most pressurized situation. Moreover, he also grabbed an “Audi” for his performance as the “Player of the tournament” and almost every Indian who was into cricket that time, must have got those memories afresh in their minds even now.
Ravi Shastri Biography – Getting to an End of his Career with a Knee Injury
Ravi Shastri Biography: Although Shastri went on to deliver some more memorable performance with both bat and ball, his injury concerns were something which kept him away from the International cricket for some good time. It was during the tri-series in Australia when he was been included in the last minute for the playing squad after getting recovered from his knee injury and in one of the matches, he was been unable to win the match for the country even while scoring a splendid 27 runs off just 16 balls. Shastri was been dropped from the team after this match and he took a while to return for the Indian team once again.
He was again selected for the England series at home but right before the tournament, his knee injury came into the picture and brought his International career to an unfortunate end.
Ravi Shastri Biography – Getting into the Commentary Stint
Ravi Shastri Biography: Soon after his retirement, Shastri found his new dimensions in the commentary world with his impeccable command over the English language along with the capability to articulate the same over the television with great perfection. He simply stood out with his commentary skills and soon became the most sought after TV commentator and cricket analyst in the world around. From Yuvi’s six sixes to Sreesanth’s catch in the T20 world cup 2007 till Dhoni’s world cup winning six in 2011 world cup, every cricket fan can simply relive those landmark achievement of the Indian cricket in Ravi Shastri’s magical voice.
Ravi Shastri Biography – Becoming the Coach of the Indian Team
Ravi Shastri Biography: After the 2007 world cup debacle, an Indian team went through a tough time and whilst Greg Chappell was been dropped from a coaching position in the same year, Shastri was been appointed the team’s manager for the series against England. He was then been promoted to the team’s director post and continued his stint up until 2016 even while Duncan Fletcher was been replaced by Anil Kumble as the team’s new coach.
While India got beaten by their arch-rivals Pakistan in the ICC champions trophy in 2017, the whole team went through controversy with team’s captain Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble not been found on good terms. Eventually, after few days of drama, Kumble resigned from his coaching duties and he was been replaced by Ravi Shastri as the new head coach of Team India. As of now, he is simply doing a great job and the Indian team is touching new horizons with every day coming under his supervision.
Awards, Records and Achievements for Ravi Shastri
- In 1984, Ravi Shastri was been awarded the Arjuna Award for his exemplary contribution to the Indian cricket.
- In 1985, he hit six sixes in an over to a bowler during one of the Ranji matches for his team.
- He won the ITA (Indian Television Award) for the best Anchor commentator in the year 2004.
- He was one of the only cricketers to have won the player of the tournament in the world championship of cricket in 1985 where he got awarded with an Audi car.
- Whilst being India’s coach, he has led the team to the number one spot in the Test Rankings.
Some Unknown Facts about Ravi Shastri
- Not many people are aware but his full name is Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri and he is also been famous with other nicknames like “ Shaz” and “ Ravi” in the cricket fraternity.
- Whilst he was in his college days only, he received a call up from the Indian team for their tour to New Zealand and after reaching there a day before the test match, Shastri did pick 3 wickets in each of the innings.
- Tall and handsome Ravi Shastri was a “go to“ men for all the ladies around and he was well famous for his good looks which also made him become a part of several posters and film shoots.
- A player who started his career as a number 10 batsman, he got promoted to the opening slot in a matter of just 2 years.
- Ravi Shastri is only the second Indian to be named as the Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF.
Ravi Shastri Biography – Controversies in Shastri’s career
Ravi Shastri Biography: Ravi Shastri has been a name synonymous to controversies in the Indian cricket and he has lived into that aspect in all of the roles played by him serving to the Indian cricket.
His Stern Response to the Critics of the Indian Team
After the Indian team was bashed out by the English team in one of the most anticipated tours, Ravi Shastri lashed out to the critics and the media whilst saying “ Go hell with what the critics and the people have to say until you knew that you are sure of what you are doing”.
His Statement after India’s Recent Victory against the Aussies’
Whilst the Indian team did achieve a landmark victory against the Aussies in both ODI and test series, Ravi Shastri again found himself as a part of the controversies while stating that the current team is the best touring Indian team since the past 15-20 years and this victory is even bigger than the world cup. This once again didn’t go well with the critics and Shastri has been a point of their target once again in the process.
Getting Involved in a Feud with Sourav Ganguly
Whilst the Indian team was looking for a new coach and Ravi Shastri got selected for the role, he and former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly were involved in rift whilst the latter questioned his capabilities for being an Indian coach.
Ravi Shastri Biography – Personal life and Net worth
Ravi Shastri Biography: Ravi Shastri got involved with many of the actresses of the yesteryears and one of his most famous affairs came with the actress Amrita Singh, they both were rumoured to be dating and whilst those stayed as rumours, Ravi Shastri married Dr Ritu Shastri eventually. They both got blessed with a daughter named Aleka and after 22 years of marriage, they finally got divorced in 2012. He was again in the news with his alleged affair with Indian actor Nimrat Kaur (Airlift famed)
His net worth is around $8 million and he gets most of his earnings from his coaching job for the Indian team currently. He also got his personal fleet of luxury cars which are worth around Rs 4 crores and his house in Mumbai currently values for around Rs 11 crore. Apart from all the earning and assets, he has also done some investments in shares and other stuff which values around 32 crores Rs.
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