In his memoir co-authored with Ayaz Memon, Ravi Shastri opens on how cricketers across the globe influenced him. His list includes former Indian captains like Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli.
Virat Kohli’s decision to step down as captain of the Indian men’s cricket team has evoked a variety of responses, including shock, disappointment, anger, confusion, and acceptance. What happened behind the scenes is not clear. With everyone who is someone in the world of cricket adding their two cents, the drama is far from over. But one person who has stood by Kohli through all this is Ravi Shastri, former captain and head coach of Team India.
Shastri’s fondness for Kohli is not new. His book Stargazing: The Players in My Life is filled with praise for Kohli’s technique as a batsman, work ethic, training, diet regimen, and “dedication and diligence in constantly trying to improve.” Shastri writes, “In the four decades that I’ve been around, I haven’t seen any Indian player work so hard towards excellence.” The book has been published by HarperCollins India.
Shastri’s professional opinion is valued because of his exemplary contributions to the sport as a cricketer, coach, and commentator but it might sound excessive to Kohli’s critics, especially when Shastri claims that Kohli is “the biggest boon to cricket so far this millennium.” His chapter on Kohli will try to convince you that the passion is not showmanship, that Kohli is willing to adapt to the need of the hour, and that he is “relaxed and chilled out” off the field.
This book, co-authored with Ayaz Memon, and illustrated by Shiva Rao, captures Shastri’s thoughts on all the cricketers whom he has “admired, enjoyed playing with/against or watching, and above all, learnt from.” Shastri began toying with the idea of this book in 2016 but hectic work schedules prevented him from giving it much time. He was able to focus on it during the COVID-19 pandemic, and get all the writing done during the months of lockdown.
The book is divided into four sections: “Growing Up into the Game,” “Friends and Rivals,” “From the Box,” and “Back in the Dressing Room, Different Avatar.” Shastri has kind words to say about his seniors, contemporaries, and juniors. He comments on not only their game but also their personality, style, fitness, and sense of humour. Shastri shows that it is possible for cricketers to share warm relationships with players who are their opponents on the field.
The book opens with Garfield Sobers, the all-rounder from West Indies. Shastri writes, “The impact of Sobers and his genius on me is incalculable… He remains [for me] the most versatile and compelling cricketer of all time. He was my earliest inspiration when I took to cricket almost half a century ago.” At the age of 10, when Shastri began to show an aptitude for bowling and battling, his father used to jokingly say, “We have a Sobers in the house.”
Shastri will turn 60 this year, so it could be difficult for you to imagine him as a child and a teen. He met Sobers in 1983. He was awestruck and tongue-tied in front of his superstar. Eventually, when Shastri spoke, Sobers gave him helpful tips on batting. His takeaway from that encounter was: “Don’t underestimate yourself, no matter the reputation of the opponent.”
The anecdotes in the book will help you appreciate Shastri’s journey from the Bombay Ranji Trophy squad to international cricket. In addition to Sobers, the first section includes Ian Chappell, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Farokh Engineer, Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Erapalli Prasanna, Bishan Singh Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, Richie Benaud, Greg Chappell, Barry Richards, Tony Greig, and Nasser Hussain.
Shastri recalls Pataudi’s flair and charisma, his sharp and probing mind, out-of-the-box thinking, talent for nurturing young players, and ability to prove skeptics wrong. Shastri remembers Pataudi as a man of varied interests. He writes, “People thought he was aloof and snooty, but he was a very chilled-out person once the ice was broken, and a great storyteller with a wicked sense of humour. He could enliven an evening like few others I’ve met.”
Another inspiration for Shastri was Engineer, who had found his place “among the earliest pin-up boys of Indian cricket.” In the 1960s, when cricket was not as lucrative as it is today, player endorsements were rare. Yet Engineer appeared in an advertisement for Brylcreem, and it was widely noticed. Shastri found “the neat parting of his curly hair” and “the big smile on his face” utterly fascinating. Struck by Engineer’s confidence and success, Shastri began to dream of having his own photographs splashed across newspapers and magazines.
The second section is devoted to cricketing legends like Clive Lloyd, Gundappa Viswanath, Mohinder Amarnath, Zaheer Abbas, Sunil Gavaskar, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee, Vivian Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Graham Gooch, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Javed Miandad, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, and Malcolm Marshall.
Take a breath; this is the longest section. It includes Allan Border, David Gower, Martin Crowe, Arjuna Ranatunga, Dean Jones, Aravinda De Silva, Wasim Akram, Steve Waugh, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Sachin Tendulkar, Waqar Younis, Brian Lara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Jonty Rhodes, Allan Donald, Shane Warne, and Anil Kumble.
Did you know that Shastri used to keep a scrapbook documenting Viswanath’s “exploits”? Or that De Silva is the first person that he calls when he lands in Sri Lanka? Or that Shastri once picked up a shoe and chased Miandad into his dressing room? Here is what Shastri has to say about Viswanath: “He was an artist. He didn’t build an innings, he painted one. The longer it lasted, the more beautiful and breathtaking it became. He had wrists of steel. When he played the square cut, the cracking sound of bat meeting ball would resonate around the stadium.”
In the third section, you will get to read about accomplished cricketers such as Sourav Ganguly, Muttiah Muralitharan, Glenn McGrath, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Mahela Jayawardene, Harbhajan Singh, Adam Gilchrist, Kumar Sangakkara, Chris Gayle, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Yuvraj Singh, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, Hashim Amla, and Kevin Pietersen.
Shastri uses the chapter on Ganguly to clear the air about their relationship, which has often been under the spotlight because of the differences that they have had.
Shastri wants you to know that there is no bad blood between the two. The professional disagreements need not be blown out of proportion because they were “nothing more than two people seeing the same situation differently.” Shastri also commends Ganguly on his leadership as a former captain.
The chapter on Hayden has a hilarious description that will crack you up. Shastri writes, “I am not slight of build, mind you, but meeting this imposing specimen for the first time, even I felt puny. Tall, barrel-chested, with a slim waist, big hands and arms, and legs like tree trunks, he looked a cross between [Sylvester] Stallone and [Arnold] Schwarzenegger, oozing power from every inch of his massive frame. I could well imagine why bowlers dreaded him in the middle.”
Shastri is also generous towards Dravid, who is currently serving Team India as head coach. He applauds Dravid for his strength of character in challenging situations, fierce determination, astonishing powers of concentration, and for slipping into a supportive role “without ever trying to upstage his partner.” He thinks that Dravid would make a great role model because he is earnest, has an open mind, and makes an effort to understand youngsters.
In the final section, you will meet Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ben Stokes, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli. Shastri mentions that he had to “overlook some current stars” – Rishabh Pant, Babar Azam, Marnus Labuschagne, Pat Cummins, Mohammed Shami, Cheteshwar Pujara, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ajinkya Rahane – as these men are still in the process of building their body of work.
Shastri’s respect for Dhoni sparkles through his observations about “splendid hands” that were “quicker than a pickpocket’s,” and “fine judgement” when it came to decision-making. Shastri admires Dhoni’s ability to “insulate himself from all the brouhaha” around cricket in India, and his “unmatched” legacy that continues to inspire youngsters “from the hinterland.”
The chapter on Sharma – whose captaincy in limited-overs formats will be watched closely after Kohli’s exit – is titled “Watch Out for Hitman.” Shastri writes about Sharma’s footwork, sense of timing, choice of strokes, technical efficiency, and “ravenous hunger for runs.”
As far as white-ball cricket is concerned, Shastri is certain Sharma will “go down as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the sport.” This prediction is based on Sharma’s performance in ODIs and T20s. However, Shastri believes that Sharma needs to work harder on his fitness so that he “settles into a rhythm that allows him to play cricket continuously.”
This book has much to offer those who delight in the sport – as players, viewers, fans, and researchers. It comes with a wonderful collection of black-and-white photographs. Shastri is lucky to have found a co-author in Memon, a sportswriter and journalist. The book is impactful because it has stories worth telling, and a writing style that is consistently engaging. Shastri says, “Without his hand-holding, this book wouldn’t have been possible.”
Chintan Girish Modi is a freelance writer, journalist, and book reviewer.