Give this team two years and see what they do: Ravi Shastri

If confidence were a university, then Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri would be its emeritus professor. Relieved of paraphernalia like ties, jackets and earphones, but dressed formally enough to gain seamless access to a nightclub, Team India's director of cricket was his assured self at the Press Club here on Monday. Loud, crisp, candid, humourous and chesty throughout his hour-long interaction with the media, the 52-year-old put up a largely predictable performance. In other words, he stoutly defended MS Dhoni the Test captain, the BCCI and its policies, and the IPL, which is “bound to have an underbelly”.

But to say that he didn't inform or impress the gathering would be unfair. Unfair to his aura, his acumen and, well, “the upper storey”, which is indeed a storehouse of wisdom to anyone who deals with cricket. “I have watched more cricket than I have played,” he thundered at the assembly, and perhaps, even at the Indian players after they'd played “spineless cricket” by forgoing a 1-0 lead to lose the five-match Test series in England.

That's when the BCCI turned to its Man Friday.

In the ensuing fortnight, the boys did the unthinkable by winning the ODI series by the same margin they'd lost the Tests — 3-1. “So what did you do?” asked the veteran journalist Ayaz Memon, who moderated the discussion. “I must have done something right,” Shastri said. Of course! No wonder the team requested the BCCI to allow him to stay in charge till the end of the World Cup.

A firm believer — like Dhoni, if one may add — in processes, Shastri wants the media and public to “give this team two years”. “And then, you'll see the kind of results they produce.”

Terming the field of play “a land of opportunity”, Shastri breathed life into the battered squad by reminding them that they were “much better”. “I keep telling them. If you get a hundred, you can go across the boundary line and get another hundred. Even if you get a zero, you can make up for it the next time by getting a fifty and three wickets. I want people to think in that fashion. And they won't be even close to that dressing room if they don't think like that. Thankfully, none in that dressing room (thinks negative).” If this isn't the art of communication, then what is?

Fiercely protective of Dhoni (who he believes can't be replaced at least for moment), his defensive captaincy style and abysmal record in overseas Tests, Shastri said, “Look at the last seven years and tell me which team apart from South Africa has played well abroad. Give them time because they are a young team,” he said.

Pressed for a pertinent reply, he put the blame on the lack of match-winning bowlers at Dhoni's disposal. “You need to pick up 20 wickets to win Test matches. People think it's runs. Even if you get 300 or 275, you can compete. But if you can't take 20 wickets, then even a total of 500 (will not guarantee you victory). As the series progresses, you will be under pressure because the opposition will start posting big totals and your batsmen will feel the pressure.”

So where are these match-winning bowlers? Wonder if Shastri, who is widely regarded as the “spokesperson” of the BCCI and a staunch “establishment man”, ever asked his employers this question.

Shastri, who defended the IPL by saying that a property as big as this is bound to have an underbelly, also refuted the notion that T20 cricket is hampering the technique and temperament of players. And he refused to acknowledge that India have been dismal in Tests, especially overseas, for more than four years. “I don't agree with it at all. How, then, did we win the World Cup, become No. 1 in Tests and stay there for 18 months, win the World T20 and make the final of the last World T20?” he remarked. He missed out the Champions Trophy triumph.

As the discussion, which by now was open to the floor, approached the hour-mark, Shastri said that Test cricket will die if T20 and ODI cricket do not prosper. He also called for the abolition of bilateral ODI series. Ironically, he is all set to fly to Kochi where India and the West Indies will play the first of five ODIs. He also said that five-Test series will make no sense in the future because “80 to 90 per cent” of these rubbers will be won by the home side. “Look at England. They were down 3-0 after three Tests in the last Ashes. They went on to lose the remaining two. I am looking at the overall economics. How do you sustain interest over a period of five Tests.

There should be no more than three Tests,” he said.

With the World Cup just five months away, Shastri said he will keep keep a close eye on domestic cricket. “I will watch some of the tournaments. You need to pick players on the basis of form. I am already in touch with the selectors and we are all on the same page,” he said. Picking a “superb bunch” for the World Cup is on top of his priority list.