'Confined 'I' into the dustbin and replaced it with 'we'; that's my achievement'

There were no egos in the Indian dressing room and the word I was consigned to the dustbin during the last five years of his tenure as the chief coach of the side asserted Ravi Shastri as he addressed his last press conference following the ninewickets win against Namibia in the final Super 12 game of the ICC T20 World CupThe Virat Kohliled side gave a commanding performance in Indias last assignment at the global event after they failed to secure a semifinal berth following two early Super 12 defeats to Pakistan and New Zealand who both advanced to the last four from Group 2Shastris tenure would be known for the highs the Indian Test side touched this year when they beat invincible Australia 21 on their home turf and took a 21 lead against the Joe Rootled England in the fivematch series The last Test had to be cancelled following a biobubble breach in the India campAsked if he and Virat Kohli actively worked towards creating an environment where players stood up for each other amid criticism Shastri said We actively worked towards it We wanted to trust in that dressing room Thats the only way you can get each others back We needed communication We wanted no fingerpointing at each other We needed the word I to be thrown into the dustbin and the word we coming in And we created a culture that had to be obeyed and followed said ShastriWith Virat leading the way hes been one of the great ambassadors for the games especially when you look at redball cricket the way hes embraced it And its allowed other players on the team to follow suit Youve got to give credit where its due added the coach who was criticised during the England tour for taking India players to his booklaunch function following which several members of the Indian support staff tested Covid19 positiveSo its a team culture which was impressed upon the team to follow and they followed it to the hilt On what was the best thing to happen in this Virat KohliRavi Shastri era the coach emphasised that it had created a team which is one of the greatest in the history of the gameJust the quality of cricket this team has played over the last five years across all formats When you perform in that fashion where you go across the globe across all formats and beat teams then you know youre part of one great cricket teamIm not saying a great cricket Team India Im saying one of the great cricket teams in the history of the game Because if you look at those kinds of performances they dont happen often Youve got to have a bunch of players who are fit hungry fearless have the quality have the belief and then to stay fit so you can play those five years together and go across the globe and perform everywhereI mean if you look at if you want the real highlights nothing beats Australia England were up in the series It will be the longest time well be up in the series until next year I might be commentating on that game for all you know but Ill keep that one area It feels goodShastri also said that the ICC T20 World Cup apart his side had played exceptionally well in the shortest version of the game beating the likes of West Indies and Sri Lanka on their home turfsWhite ball everywhere You beat the West Indies in the West Indies You beat Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka good teams All around its been fabulous Yes we are disappointed in the result in the first two games here Lets be honest Im not here to make any sort of excuses But still its something for the boys to learn Theyll get an opportunity again next year Its not often you have World Cups in 12 months So hopefully theyll go and kick some butt there added ShastriAlso Read End of An Era Ravi ShastriVirat Kohli partnership eyes winning end to significant chapter in Indian cricketThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever