Champions are made through a series of ongoing successes & defeats, they never stop achieving. They are inspired by others and always learning. We hope Ravi's versatility and milestones to go the extra yard inspires you on your journey to be a champion.
Milestone 1
1976-77 - Giles Sheild winning Don Bosco as captain:
As a 14-year-old, Ravi Shastri gave an early account of his pedigree when he helped Don Bosco reach the finals of Giles Shield for the first time in 1976. Albeit losing finalists that year, they climbed the final step under his captaincy in 1977, lifting the trophy.
Milestone 2
1980 – Bombay debut:
Thanks to his exploits in school cricket, it was no wonder that Ravi Shastri became the then youngest Ranji cricketer for Mumbai (Bombay) at age of 17 years and 292 days. He was still in his last year of junior college when achieved this feat.
Milestone 3
1981 - Test debut New Zealand:
Shastri’s Test debut came at windy Wellington after only 18 months of First Class cricket. He was not slated to play that Test arriving there only the night before as cover for injured Dilip Doshi and then ended up taking three wickets in four balls. Overall, he finished with 15 wickets in three Tests.
Milestone 4
1st Test hundred 1982-83, Pakistan as an opener:
Shastri’s rise was near meteoric. He had batted at number ten in Wellington, and within 18 months of his debut, he had moved up the order to the opening slot, scoring 66 against England (1982) as a first-time opener. Six months later in January 1983, Shastri registered his maiden Test hundred opening the innings against Pakistan in Karachi.
Milestone 5
1983 Test hundred in West Indies:
In April 1983, Shastri scored his second Test hundred at Antigua against West Indies. It was a prelude to a historic summer for Indian cricket, and whilst still young, it became obvious that he would be a major part of the future’s story.
Milestone 6
1983 – Lord’s CWC – Baby of the Team:
It was no wonder that Shastri was included in the historical 1983 World Cup squad. He played in five matches, twice against West Indies and Zimbabwe (including opening the innings in that famous game at Turnbridge Wells where Kapil Dev scored 175 runs), and Australia. A baby-faced Shastri was part of the glorious group that lifted the Prudential World Cup at Lord’s that summer and stunned the cricketing world.
Milestone 7
1984 – First Test hundred at home – England:
Batting at number six, Shastri notched his then highest score of 142 at home turf of Mumbai, his first Test hundred in India. It followed a successful tour of Pakistan where he had scored 139 in Faisalabad earlier in the year.
Milestone 8
1985 – 6 Sixes in January:
Ten days after scoring 111 against England in Kolkata, Shastri changed gears in the Ranji Trophy game against Baroda to smash a half-century off 42 balls. Later, he smacked six sixes off six deliveries off left-arm spinner Tilak Raj to match Sir Garfield Sobers’ feat from 1968. Shastri moved from to his double hundred in just 43 balls, finishing at 200 not out, still the quickest double hundred in Indian first-class cricket (off 123 balls).
Milestone 9
1985 – Champion of Champions – Audi in Australia:
Opening in the 1983 World Cup with Kris Srikkanth in passing soon became a trend and it was the foundation of India’s ODI batting for the World Championship of Cricket in Australia. With 8 wickets and 182 runs to his name, he finished as the leading player of the tournament that India added to their 1983 World Cup, and was awarded an Audi 100 car for it.
Milestone 10
1985 – bowling out Delhi to win Ranji Trophy (8wkts):
In arguably the greatest Ranji Trophy game ever played, Shastri’s 8-91 helped Bombay seal off their 30th title against arch rivals Delhi in the 50th year of the competition. He had also top-scored 76 runs in the second innings to set a tough target of 300 before routing the Delhi line-up.
Milestone 11
1986 – Winning in England (series):
Shastri was part of the historic Indian Test 2-0 series’ win in England in the summer of 1986. It was an epochal moment for Indian cricket for overseas Test victories would be rare for atleast two decades.
Milestone 12
1987 – beating West Indies as captain of India:
After serving as vice-captain to Kapil Dev for most of 1985 and 1986, Shastri was in-line for captaincy at some point. Shastri’s moment came as Vengsarkar was injured for the fourth Test against West Indies in Chennai, which India won to level the four-match series at home.
Milestone 13
1987-88 – Winning the Sharjah Cup as Captain:
Shastri did continue as ODI captain thereafter, and registered a fine victory in the tri-nation series in Sharjah also involving Sri Lanka and New Zealand. The well-oiled Indian ODI side started as favourites and easily lifted the trophy.
Milestone 14
1989 – 100 in Barbados (best innings):
Arguably Shastri’s best knock came against the mighty West Indies’ pace attack of Malcolm Marshall, Courteney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose and Ian Bishop on a tough Barbados wicket in 1989. While the Indian batting crashed around him (last six wickets for 63 runs), he stood tall coming in at number three and was last batsman out.
Milestone 15
1990 – 2 100s as an opener in England at Lord’s and Oval:
While India struggled on their tour of England, Shastri made a mark with hundreds at Lord’s and the Oval, both as opener. It outlined his importance for Indian cricket, a stoic character who got going in the toughest circumstances even whilst approaching the fag end of his long international career.
Milestone 16
1991 - 200 in Sydney :
Later on the Australian tour of 1991, Shastri scored 206, his highest Test score at Sydney, his only Test double hundred and the first by an Indian batsman (also by an Asian batsman) Down Under. It was Shane Warne’s first Test.
Milestone 17
1994 – retiring from Cricket in August (Sri Lanka) & making debut as a commentator (Quadrangular):
A recurring knee injury, sustained first in Australia three years ago, brought an end to Shastri’s illustrious career as a cricketer. However, he immediately started a new innings, with the microphone in hand and scripting a new legacy. He made his television commentary debut in March 1995 at World Series Masters (quadrangular) tournament.
Milestone 18
2000 :
Through the years, Shastri’s television exploits grew just as his playing career and he rose into prominence as one of the most impressive and authoritative voices in cricket. He played host to a variety of programming with the likes of Barry Richards (South Africa), Michael Holding (West Indies) and Allan Border (Australia), as well as a popular show with Wasim Akram (Pakistan) called Shaz & Waz.
Milestone 19
2003 – Final (Richie Benaud at Johannesburg):
As India and Australia clashed in the final of the 2003 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Shastri shared the commentary box with the legendary Richie Benaud, holding his own even as the Men in Blue lost the day.
Milestone 20
2007 – Final (MS Dhoni):
Shastri was one of the select voices for ESPN-Star Sports’ coverage of the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa. He was on air for India’s seminal moment in the shortest format, wherein they lifted the trophy under young captain MS Dhoni after beating arch-rivals Pakistan in a tense final at Johannesburg.
Glorious moments: Shastri made a habit of being there at the best moments, describing the joy experienced by a billion Indian fans. He was on-air for Dhoni’s monster six that won India the 2011 ODI World Cup in Mumbai, for Sachin Tendulkar’s historical ODI double hundred in Gwalior (2010) and when Yuvraj Singh smashed Stuart Broad for six sixes at Durban in the 2007 T20 World Cup. Shastri’s voice became resonant with India’s glorious on-field moments in the 2000s.
Milestone 21
2014 – Team Director:
Shastri then returned as team director of the Indian team after the 3-1 loss in Test series in England. His appointment saw an immediate reversal as India beat England in the ODI series. He continued in the role until 2016, overseeing Dhoni’s Test retirement and helping Virat Kohli settle down as Indian captain across all formats.
Milestone 22
2018 – Whitewashing Australia in Australia:
In 2017, he was appointed full-time coach of the Indian team until 2021. Some of the highlights of his coaching tenure include beating Australia in Australia across different formats: 3-0 in the T20I series in 2018 and 2-1 in the Test series in 2018-19. India also registered away Test wins in South Africa and England in closely contested series, whilst maintaining an unbeaten record at home.
Transition in Indian cricket: From Sachin Tendulkar to MS Dhoni to Virat Kohli, Shastri has helped shaped different periods of transition in Indian cricket, starting from 2007. Perhaps the most vital was the handover from Dhoni to Kohli in 2014-15, and in this period, he helped forge the most fearsome pace attack ever witnessed in Indian cricket. Assistant coach and his long-time friend Bharat Arun assisted the Shastri-Kohli duo in this endeavour.
Milestone 23
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