Lagatar24 Desk
Muscat, Jan 25: Former India head coach Ravi Shastri says on Tuesday that there is no need to panic following the team’s humiliating Test and ODI series losses to an under-strength South Africa, as he believes it is only a “temporary phase” that will pass quickly.
In the wake of Virat Kohli’s decision to retire from all formats, team India was blanked 0-3 in the one-day internationals, capping a disappointing journey to South Africa.
India had already lost the Test series 1-2 after back-to-back defeats in Wanderers and Cape Town. Kohli announced his retirement from captaincy in the longest format at the conclusion of that series, signalling the end of an era in Indian cricket.
“If you lose one series, you people start criticizing. You can’t win every game, there will be wins and losses,” said Shastri.
Notably, the ODI series loss in South Africa was their first since Kohli was replaced as the 50-over captain in December of last year. Shastri said that he did not watch a single ball in the South Africa series, but he refused to believe that the level of play had slipped.
“How can the standard go down suddenly? For five years, you have been the number one side in the world,” he asserted.
Shastri insisted that there is nothing to be concerned about, dismissing recent defeats as a blip on the radar.
“When you have a win ratio of 65 per cent over the last five years, what is there to worry about? What is there to worry about, our rival teams should worry,” he said.
