Ravi Shastri has opened up about the infamous 2016 controversy involving former India captain Sourav Ganguly, which emerged during the appointment of the Indian cricket team's head coach.
Shastri, who had earlier captained India and went on to become one of the country's most successful head coaches, was appointed Director of Cricket for the Indian team in 2014. However, in 2016, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to scrap the post and asked Shastri to apply for the position of head coach.
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The appointment was handled by the BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which comprised three legendary batters of their time, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. The committee eventually overlooked Shastri and appointed former India captain Anil Kumble as the team's head coach.
The decision soon turned controversial after Shastri revealed that Ganguly was absent when he appeared for his interview for the head coach's position. Shastri said he felt disrespected by Ganguly's absence during the interview. Ganguly later responded to Shastri's comments, saying he was "very saddened" by what he described as a "personal attack" from the former India all-rounder.
"In 2014 I took over; I was the director of the side. Came in 2016, they said, no, we don't want any director now. You apply for a head coach position. And there should have been no reason why I should not have carried on on sheer merit. So there was obviously some other reason, some motive behind why you were shafted out. Okay," Shastri told Republic TV.
"That hurt me. You know, that hurt me; if I look back at my career, that hurt me a lot because you had given your heart and soul to getting the team to where it was and you could see the fruits being delivered in a matter of time. And then you had to go and sit out," he added.
Despite missing out on the position in 2016, Shastri returned as India's head coach in 2017. He remained in the role until 2021, completing a tenure of four and a half years with the national team.
Reflecting further on the incident, Shastri said, "Then I went back to commentary, carried on with the game. I said, okay, that was a good experience for a year and a half. It taught me a lot; it got me back into the dressing room. It taught me how the players think. In the modern era, how Gen Z thinks. And, you know, leave it at that. It was a bad knock on the knuckles.
"But anyway, you took it, you moved on, and then you got the opportunity again. And, you know, it's again, like in cricket, when you come back, you come back stronger. And what happened is history."
The 2016 episode still remains one of the most talked-about moments in Indian cricket's coaching history, particularly because of the involvement of two former India captains in a controversy surrounding the appointment of the team's head coach.
India failed to win an ICC event during his tenure, but the team did achieve a historic series victory under Shastri.
India won the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy despite losing almost half of its first-choice players during the series, because of injuries. The team showed tremendous grit and determination to complete a memorable 2-1 series win in Australia.
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The partnership between Shastri and former India captain Virat Kohli was also credited with helping transform India's approach to fast bowling.
India invested heavily in its pace attack, which helped the team become more competitive in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries.
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