MS Dhoni: Director's delight

It has been 53 weeks since Ravi Shastri took over as team director of Team India. It will be another 27 weeks and two days that Shastri and the support staff of Sanjay Bangar (batting), Bharat Arun (bowling) and R Sridhar (fielding) will be running the Indian team through some important tournaments including the home series against South Africa and the ICC World T20 in India next year.

Now that Shastri & Co. have been given a reasonably long run – unlike the series-by-series appointment until recently – he can focus on the job at hand: to make the team under MS Dhoni (limited-overs) and Virat Kohli (Tests) a consistent side.

Shastri and Kohli have already formed a formidable combination. Both think alike: aggressive and with the approach to win at all costs. Shastri will go down as one of the astute cricketing brains never to have led India for a longer time. He led India to victory in the lone Test that he captained – in Chennai against Viv Richards's West Indies in 1987-88. He also led India in 11 ODIs, the crowning glory being winning the Sharjah Cup tri-series in April 1988.

Perhaps, the 53-year-old former all-rounder is realising some unfulfilled ambitions through captain Kohli: of seeing India become world beaters with his never-say-die approach.

As India gear up for 'The Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela Series' against South Africa at home starting on October 2, Shastri paid rich tributes to limited-overs captain Dhoni on the fifth day of the preparatory camp in Bengaluru on Friday.

Asked if the split captaincy would pose any problem to the team, Shastri said: "No problem at all. You are talking of a seasoned campaigner (in Dhoni). You are talking about one of the legends, one of the all-time greats of world cricket, and not just Indian cricket. He takes over a job he has been doing. So, it is nothing new. Everything fits into place automatically. No difference, either, for the team. They played under him in the World Cup. They played under MS in Bangladesh. So, what's different now? They are playing under a champion. What else do you want?"

Shastri also said Dhoni deserved to choose his batting position after all the years of hard work.

"He has done the dirty work for the last donkey's years. Give him the chance to enjoy himself. You are talking of one of the greatest one-day captains and players to have played the game. You look down world cricket and check his record (of) what his achievements are in the shorter format of the game. I don't think anyone will come close to him. Don't worry about MS. He will decide (his batting position) on the day (of the game)," said Shastri.

Shastri, who took over as team director before the ODI series in England last year, said the lessons learnt by the young side in Australia will hold them in good stead in the future.

"Consistency," he said when asked about the lessons the team learnt since he took over. "It is a classic case of showing everyone that they are learning. For me, the most successful tour was the tour of Australia. I keep saying that. It will hit you guys later. Two years down the line, you will know where I am coming from. The result was 2-0 down. Then we had a great World Cup. But the lessons learnt on that tour were hard lessons to learn. And that is being put into practice, which I am really heartened by because this is a young team, they are passionate, they want to learn and don't want to rest on their laurels, and they want to be consistent."

Seeking Dravid's advice
Shastri said he will take insights from India 'A' coach Rahul Dravid on the emerging talent in India.

"The bench strength is very good," said Shastri. "I am going to have a chat with Rahul to find out because he is in the best position to actually know who are the guys who can come through the ranks. For the amount of cricket that he has played, he can understand very quickly who the bloke is who can bridge the gap.

"It is all very well to get heaps of runs in domestic cricket. But there is also a talent that comes with experience where you know that (a particular) guy might have got fewer runs but he will be ready for the top level because of certain things he does. Those are the things you have got to interact with Rahul for. He is doing a wonderful job. The fact that he is giving so much time just after finishing his cricket for a young team is brilliant."

With Shastri at the helm, one thing is certain. The Indian team, as has displayed in the past, will not back away from challenges. Get ready and take guard for some exciting and entertaining cricket in the coming days.

DIRECTOR'S TAKE

On the challenges of his role:
Every assignment for me has been a big one for the last one year. You take it one series at a time. There is not small series in world cricket today. It is just the teams that change. It is a responsibility. It is a challenge that I have never backed away from. This is a brilliant young team. You have seen their performances in all formats of the game over the last one year. The endeavour will be to keep that consistency going over the next seven months till we are in charge.

On five-bowler theory:
It is never a permanent strategy. You have got to respect the conditions. In this game of cricket, you cannot go in and say 'I am going to go with this team'. It will backfire on you if the conditions are totally different. You might need six batsmen, you might need four-and-a-half bowlers, you might need just a bowler to do the job to give the main bowlers the rest. It is very important you have got to study the opposition you are up against and then decide what is the best combination of your team.

On batsmen moving up and down the order:
Nobody is in a comfort zone. It is only when you get into a comfort zone that you say that he has got out of that comfort zone. As a batsman in the top order, you should be prepared to bat anywhere as the team demands. These were unforeseen circumstances (in Sri Lanka). Otherwise, they would not have had to do it. You had Shikhar injured, breaking his arm. Murali Vijay (hamstring). We never had our two regular openers fully fit from the outset. If that was the case, then things would have been different.

On the South African side:
You have got to respect the fact that they are the No. 1 team in the world. We know what we are up against. They are a stiff opposition. They play well in overseas conditions, better than any other side in world cricket. They travel better than any other team. And the record will show that. We know what we are up against. The respect is there. But we won't take any backward steps.