Jealous gang wanted me to fail: Former India head coach Ravi Shastri

One of India's finest all-rounders in the 20th century, Ravi Shastri scored over 3000 runs and picked over 100 wickets in the Test and the ODI format. After his retirement in 1992, he marked his presence as a commentator from 1995.

Shastri has been the voice of Indian cricket and is most popularly known for his exploits with the mic during Yuvraj Singh's six sixes in the 2007 World Cup. He then worked as Team India's director of cricket from 2014 to 2016.

From 2017 to 2021, Shastri served as the Head Coach of the Indian team and took them to new heights, especially in the Test format. However, in a recent interview with UK's The Guardian Newspaper, Shastri has opened up about people wanting him to fail during his coaching stint.

"I didn't have coaching badges [either]. Level one? Level two? **** that. And in a country like India, there is always jealousy or a gang of people willing you to fail. I had a thick skin, thicker than the leather of the Dukes ball you use. A real solid hide," Shastri said to The Guardian.

This answer was in relation to the former cricketer Rob Key, being appointed as the director of England men's cricket team this year. Key also has been a commentator for the last few years and doesn't have the experience of a coaching role. 

Shastri thinks Key will develop his skills as time progresses because a coach is judged daily for his decisions. He further added that Key had been the captain of Kent County for many years and would surely put communication with the players of paramount importance.  

"And you need a bloody hide over here. Rob will develop this as he does the job because every day you are judged. And I am glad he has a lot of captaincy experience from his time at Kent because communication with the players is absolutely paramount," Shastri added.

Shastri added that he instructed the present Indian team to be firm with their aggressiveness against the Aussies and return their sledging in their language. He felt that Key should discuss with Joe Root to understand this process.

"It was about attitude, especially when playing the Aussies. I told the boys if one single expletive comes your way, give them three back: two in our language and one in theirs," Shastri urged Key to discuss with Root on this matter.

In his final excerpts from the interview, Shastri supported the induction of all-rounder Ben Stokes as the England captain. He felt that Stokes would be fired to do well for the team than ever in this role.  

"The adrenaline of captaincy – not that he needs it – could fire Stokes up to be something even more than the incredible player he is now," Shastri concluded.