My job isn’t to butter everyone’s toast, says Ravi Shastri on R Ashwin: Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri has ever been vocal with his thoughts. His inimitable style has been loved by many, however, it has also created a mess many times. In a recent interview, Ravi Shastri said that a coach’s role in the team is to state clear facts against his players and not butter anyone’s toast.
The brutal statement came from the former Indian head coach after Ravi Ashwin in his recent interview with The Cricket Monthly said that he felt absolutely crushed when Shastri termed chinamen bowler Kuldeep Yadav as India number one overseas spinner.
The incident happened back in 2019 during the New Year’s Sidney Test. Kuldeep played the test match while Ashwin was unavailable. The left-arm spinner clinched a five-for in the test match following which Ravi Shastri said Kuldeep to be India’s number 1 overseas spinner.
“Ashwin did not play the Test in Sydney and Kuldeep bowled well. So it’s fair I give Kuldeep a chance,” said Ravi Shastri during his recent interaction with The Indian Express.
Shastri reckoned that he isn’t ashamed of what he said about R Ashwin back then as it made Ashiwn do something different.
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“If my statement on Kuldeep hurt Ashwin, I am glad I made that statement. It made him do something different,” he added.
He further said that the coach’s job in the team isn’t to butter everyone’s toast but to display a clear picture.
“My job is not to butter everyone’s toast. My job is to state facts without agenda. If your coach challenges you, what will you do? Go home crying and say I won’t come back. I as a player would take it as a challenge, to prove the coach wrong.”
I felt thrown under the bus: R Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin played the Adelaide test match against Australia, which was the opening test match, in which he scalped six wickets. Unfortunately, he couldn’t continue as he was ruled out of the entire series with a grade three abdomen tear.
Ashwin, in the same interview with The Cricket Monthly, said that he felt like he was, “ thrown under the bus,” after Ravi Shastri’s statement on the number 1 overseas spinner.
“The way Ashwin bowled in 2019 and the way he has bowled in 2021 is chalk and cheese. About throwing Ashwin under the bus, he need not worry because I had told the bus driver to stop 2-3 feet short. The message to Ashwin in 2018 was that he had to be fit. He has worked on that and look how’s bowling now. He’s world-class,” replied Ravi Shastri to Ashwin’s thrown under the bus comment.
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