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"Rabada ka kabada kar de": When Ravi Shastri's savage one-liner motivated India

Shreyasi

How Shastri motivated India [Source: Indian Express] How Shastri motivated India [Source: Indian Express]

Former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel recalled a quintessential Ravi Shastri one-liner that motivated the dressing room. It came during India’s 2018 Johannesburg Test before Patel went to open the Indian batting in the second innings.

Parthiv Patel recalls quintennial Shastri speech

During The Great Indian Cricket Show on Doordarshan, Parthiv Patel shared a vivid memory from India’s Johannesburg Test in 2018. He was going to open the second innings batting for India at the Wanderers when Ravi Shastri, the head coach motivated Patel in his trademark style. Patel recalled,

“Ravi Shastri sent me to open the Johannesburg Test match in the second innings. Usually, a coach would offer some advice about the pitch or playing conditions. But what did Mr. Shastri say? He simply said, ‘Rabada ka kabada kar de’.”

Interestingly, a charged up Parthiv Patel hit two boundaries off Kagiso Rabada before being dismissed for 16 by Philander. The target set by Indian batters turned out to be a stiff chase for the hosts as Mohammed Shami (5-28) led the Indian bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma took two each. Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli contributed with fifties for India in the first innings where in the second innings Ajinkya Rahane was the highest scorer with 48 runs. Eventually India won the final match by 63 runs although the hosts sealed the series 2-1.

“The kind of energy” that defines Shastri

Explaining the thought process of Ravi Shastri, Patel further said that nobody would have motivated the team better than former head coach. He opined,

“That is exactly how he thinks... Just imagine the kind of energy and motivation he would have given to the others in the team. Nobody does it better than him.”

Ravi Shastri’s coaching style was infamous and unique. He liked to keep it simple and trust the players’ instincts. The heights Indian cricket team reached in Test cricket under his coaching and Virat Kohli’s captaincy are still missed by the fans.