Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, April 26: Former India head coach Ravi Shastri suggested that Robert Key will need to develop a ‘thick skin’ similar to the Dukes ball in order to deal with jealous people in his new role as the ECB’s Director of Cricket.
Shastri led India’s coaching staff from 2014 to 2021, with the exception of one year in the middle when Anil Kumble took over. Shastri claimed in an interview with the UK’s ‘The Guardian’ publication that a ‘gang of people’ in India wanted him to fail.
Key, like Shastri, has long been a popular commentator but lacks a coaching degree as he seeks to transition into a new and very different role.
“And you need a bloody hide over here. Rob will develop this as he does the job, because every day you are judged. And I am glad he has a lot of captaincy experience from his time at Kent, because communication with the players is absolutely paramount,” Shastri was quoted as saying by the British newspaper.
Shastri believes that national teams all around the cricketing globe operate in a similar manner, based on his own experience with the Indian team.
“You have to be bullish and brutish in wanting to achieve that. For us, and now England, it was about setting the challenge of winning abroad, big time. I was very firm when it came to team culture: all the prima donnas and all that shit, that had to go out of the window early,” Shastri said.
