‘My job is not to butter everyone’s toast’: Shastri on Ashwin’s comment

TIL Desk Sports/ Former India head coach Ravi Shastri on Thursday said he has no regrets about picking Kuldeep Yadav over Ravichandran Ashwin in the 2019 Sydney Test as chinaman was bowling well at the time, adding that he was happy if his statement made Tamil Nadu off-spinner improve his game in the red-ball cricket.

Kuldeep was preferred over Ashwin in the 2019 Sydney Test and the left-arm spinner had justified the faith shown by team management by picking 5 wickets in Australia’s first innings. After that game, the then coach Shastri publicly said that Kuldeep would be the first choice spinner in overseas Tests.

Meanwhile, Ashwin, in his recent interview, revealed that he felt “absolutely crushed” when Shastri labelled Kuldeep as India’s No 1 overseas spinner as the senior spinner at the time was already suffering from a slump in form.

“… I felt crushed. Absolutely crushed. We all talk about how important it is to enjoy your team-mates’ success. And I was happy for Kuldeep. I have not been able to get a five-for but he has a five-for in Australia. I know how big it is. Even when I have bowled well (at other times), I haven’t ended up with a five-for. So, I am genuinely happy for him. And it’s an extremely happy occasion, to win in Australia,” Ashwin had said.