Ravi Shastri, the head coach of the Indian cricket team, had wanted Shardul Thakur to tell R Ashwin to face Nathan Lyon but he did not give message.
The Indian cricket team's fairytale revival in the recent series against Australia is still being celebrated by many for the way how the side showed guts, determination following their ultimate humiliation in Adelaide. In the Pink Ball Test, they were bowled out for an 88-year low of 36 and they were missing Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami. In the Melbourne Test, under the captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane, the Indian cricket team won the Boxing Day match in grand style to level the series. In Sydney, India was chasing an unlikely target of over 400 but they had their hopes high when Rishabh Pant was smashing the Australian bowlers around while Cheteshwar Pujara was stonewalling the Aussies. However, when Pant and Pujara fell, India was in danger of a loss in Sydney.
A loss in Sydney would have meant that Australia would not lose the series heading into Brisbane. However, Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin batted out 42 overs to salvage an epic draw and keep the series alive. In the course of their partnership, Hanuma Vihari was battling a grade 2 hamstring tear while Ravichandran Ashwin had a back injury. During the course of their partnership, India cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri asked Shardul Thakur to give both Ashwin and Vihari an important message.
However, in an interaction between R Sridhar and Ravichandran Ashwin, it was later revealed that they never got the message from Shardul Thakur. Ravi Shastri had been shouting instructions from the dressing room but Shardul Thakur decided that he would not confuse Ashwin and Vihari and decided that they bat on the way they have been. "Ravi Shastri had a clear message. He called Shardul Thakur (and said) 'Shardul, come here and tell them that I told this specifically.’ He (Shardul) was almost shivering. He said 'What should I say, sir?''Tell Ash, that I told him', Shastri replied. 'What should I tell him, sir?', Thakur enquired. Shastri said, 'Ashwin should take care of this end, and Vihari should bat from the other end. Ashwin is the best batsman against Nathan Lyon in this entire team. So he should bat from this end. He has a huge stride which helps him negate spin so well. Vihari is managing Starc and Cummins really well, getting underneath those bouncers. So ask them to continue'," R Sridhar said.
Ashwin's side of the story
When Shardul Thakur came on the field during the drinks break, he was catching his breath and wanted to tell the message. However, he was nervous and Ashwin, sensing a bit of panic in Thakur told him to just give the message. "He was catching his breath when he reached us. We were like: 'Just say it man', while drinking water. Shardul said: 'They told me so many things from the dressing room'. Yes, please tell, (I said). 'But I am not going to say any of it," Shardul replied. "You guys are doing a great job. So please continue," Ashwin revealed.
Hanuma Vihari and R Ashwin were both ruled out of the Brisbane Test but Shardul Thakur took seven wickets and scored 67 in the first innings to share an important partnership in excess of 100 with Washington Sundar as India won the Brisbane Test and the series 2-1.
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