NEW DELHI: Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has advised Team India to move past their 0-3 defeat to New Zealand and concentrate on upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
The unprecedented whitewash under Rohit Sharma‘s leadership marked India’s first home Test series defeat in 12 years, significantly impacting their ICC World Test Championship standings position.
Shastri maintains a positive outlook regarding India’s prospects of qualifying for the World Test Championship Final at Lord’s next year, encouraging the team to maintain an optimistic approach.”India will be smarting from that defeat in the series against New Zealand because they were caught unawares. They were a little complacent and paid the price for it. That said, this Indian team is a very proud one,” Shastri said during the latest episode of The ICC Review.
To secure a place in the World Test Championship Final, India need to win four out of five matches in Australia. Their campaign begins with the first Test in Perth on November 22.
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India’s previous success in making strong starts during away tours is noteworthy, particularly during their 2018/19 Australian tour, where they achieved their first opening Test victory, defeating Australia by 31 runs in Adelaide, with Cheteshwar Pujara scoring a remarkable century.
Shastri stressed the significance of beginning the Australia tour positively to restore momentum.
“They would be hurting, and they’ll want to get back on track as soon as possible. The best way to bounce back from such a series is to start another one strongly. So, the first two Tests become extremely crucial,” he stated.
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The 62-year-old advised the team management to concentrate on previous achievements and take inspiration from their successful Australian tours.
India achieved their first Test series victory in Australia in 2018 under Virat Kohli‘s captaincy, subsequently replicating this success in 2021 despite the absence of several key players.
“The key will be to ensure they start well and keep the players in a good frame of mind. That will be the coach’s most important task,” Shastri added.
He highlighted the potential role of India’s batsmen in establishing an early advantage.
“Confidence is key. They must focus on the positives, think about what they achieved in Australia last time, and build on that. Put the New Zealand loss behind them. These are different conditions, and some Australian tracks are the best to bat on once you settle in. It’ll be a totally different scenario when they get out there,” Shastri concluded.
