Ravi Shastri "they have been one of the greatest cricket teams in the history of the game"

[Technics 1210]

Check out the Amitabh tweets on the ‘great’ T20 WC performance by India, like winning the last 3 matches.

Great has an entirely new definition and meaning in India.

 

[Technics 1210]

No one cares about T20s. Tests are what matter the most and the team has been phenomenal in that format for the last few years.

No cares about T20? IPL is a T20 tournament and of course with India out of the T20 WC, no one cares anymore in India, right?

 

[Zaz]

Shastris off his rocker

Great teams dont have to blow their own trumpet Others do it for them

This indian team and their supporters have a chip on their shoulder where they are forcing this narrative

Perhaps they think if we shout a lie for long enlugh and loud enough it will become the truth?

 

[mastimasti]

He is only looking at Indian team of that era and comparing them with the current team. Forgetting completely about how weak or strong opposition teams were at that time. Agree with the nonsense part.

Thank you, it is nice to meet another sane Indian fan on here. There are so few of us. It's so important to remember results against quality opposition. India under Shastri were pretty one sidedly beaten against a half decent SA side, they lost 4-1 against a weak England side (definitely did better this time but that came against an even more weak England side, the weakest fielded since maybe the late 90s if not ever). The wins against Australia have always been wonderful but they were against possibly the weakest Aussie side of my life time, if not forever.

This is not to mention losing emphatically in the CT 2019 Final, being humiliated against Pakistan yet again in my opinion, the worse loss for India in T20s ever, looking weak and aimless this whole tournament and not winning s world t20 even after having the largest and richest T20 league on the planet. The fact that we had a world cup winning formula under Shastri, while having the likes of Kohli, Sharma, Bumrah and co on helpful pitches and conditions is a crime.

 

[Ab Fan]

England at that time had the likes of Cook and KP and it's one of the best England sides in the last 30 years, the SA side was one of their best ever.

Who will talk about the New Zealand team drawing in 2011??

Like seriously, you are defending the Australian team of 2011? Either you are deluded or you must be joking.

 

[Robert]

No one cares about T20s. Tests are what matter the most and the team has been phenomenal in that format for the last few years.

“Phenomenal” is overstating it. Their batting is not very good and they have been facing some weak teams like England.

 

[Ab Fan]

“Phenomenal” is overstating it. Their batting is not very good and they have been facing some weak teams like England.

I disagree. Root over past one year has been batting like Sir Don Bradman. Anderson is the greatest bowler that England have produced since Bob Willis and everyone considers him an all-time great and Woakes is excellent at home and Robinson has been excellent throughout the tournament. I think it is a very good side at home.

Aside of the 2-1 lead vs England, this Indian team is also strong in the sense that when England toured India even in the absence of Jadeja and Shami, Axar Patel ran through this England batting lineup and made them look like a deer in headlight.

Look at what India did to Australia in Australia (2018,2020) and look at the results that England(2017) and New Zealand(2019) have produced in Australia. The difference is quite alarming.

The great Ian Botham once said,

<B>"To win in Australia, for me, has to be the ultimate success because the Aussies live for sport."</B>

India have done it twice now. England of 2009-12 are rated so highly because of their win in Ashes 2010, which was basically half the team as good as Australia of 2020 that Indian defeated. The 2020 win vs Australia in presence of greats like Smith and Cummins goes down as an extremely memorable win. Moreover, it is not a fluke by any stretch because they did it twice and they have won enough to be ranked no 1 in ICC Test rankings for last 5-6 years consecutively.

 

[Unbiased-Fan]

"they have been one of the greatest Indian cricket teams in the history of the game"

Indian team in 2008-2012 was awesome as well. All members of Fab 4 were in form, Sehwag-Gambhir combo was making consistent runs.We had great WK-captain. ONly thing lacking was great bowlers.
Shastri's team has strong bowling, but only one world class batsman and 2-3 very good batsman.
Series wins in Australia was probably the best ever achievement by subcontinent team in test cricket.
But, this team could have achieve more.
Comparing this team with other ATG teams is utter nonsense. Aussie team under Ponting, RSA under Smith and 1980s Windies team are non comparable.

 

[DHONI183]

There was a thread in which the point was made that India exiting from the ongoing T20 World Cup in the group stage might actually be a blessing in disguise. I disagreed with that, but I do believe that the failure might, just might, help the Indian fans, their media and experts, and the people around possibly within the team realise that their team is perhaps not as good as they think it to be. I've this friend in India and, following India's initial defeats which almost confirmed their exit quite early in the tournament, I avoided discussing cricket with him altogether. The other day, he himself brought up the topic and himself said that arrogance might be an issue for outsiders, but the fact also is that some of it is justified because they're going through a golden era, like the great West Indies and the Australian team of the past did. I was astounded by his comparison and was left dumbfounded! Like, seriously?!

I know what Ravi Shastri is trying to say. It's great and admirable that India have won Test series in away conditions outside Asia as well, and I fully respect that, but cricket does not work like that in the subcontinent, and Shastri himself knows it better than anyone else. Just listen to the man`s own commentary from the evening when India won the World Cup 2011 or the other two trophies from recent years. Greatness, in the subcontinent, is hugely, if not primarily, judged based on the global events that take place in Limited-Overs cricket, regardless of how loud Shastri himself blows the trumpet of the greatness of the current Indian team.

Regardless of that, though, Ravi Shastri is perhaps my favourite commentator - not in terms of analysis but rather the God-given voice that he possesses for the purpose - and I'm looking forward to hearing him there again, even if he wouldn't have Dhoni`s last overs` hitting to commentate on.

 

[mastimasti]

Shastris off his rocker

Great teams dont have to blow their own trumpet Others do it for them

This indian team and their supporters have a chip on their shoulder where they are forcing this narrative

Perhaps they think if we shout a lie for long enlugh and loud enough it will become the truth?

This is a great point!

I would also like to add, great teams have great cricketers. Australia at its peak had POnting, McGrath, Warne, Hayden, Gilly etc, SA had Smith, Boucher, Steyn, Pollock, Ntini etc, the best England team of recent times had KP, Swann, Cook, Bell, Freddie, some of their best cricketers in those positions.

The best Indian teams had Tendulkar, Sehwag, Dravid, Laxman, Khan etc. What doe sthe current test side have outside of Kohli?

The reason no serious cricketing discussion is ever had of this being one of the greatest teams ever is because it isn't.

 

[QalandarFan]

don't even compare this team to the dominant West Indies team and especially not to the dominant Australia team they were winning World Cups without losing a single game and blowing other teams out. What exactly has India done in ICC Events since 2013 apart from choking?

 

[shaz619]

Lmao don't even compare this team to the dominant West Indies team and especially not to the dominant Australia team they were winning World Cups without losing a single game and blowing other teams out. What exactly has India done in ICC Events since 2013 apart from choking?

Could the legendary Australian and West Indian teams dominate Namibia the way this Great Indian side did though ?

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

The amount of talents on that 99 team was almost hilariously crazy. They had everything you wish on a dream team.Even Mighty Windies(Great Spinner) Or Aussis(Proper All-rounder) lacked things they had. The fact that Waqar, Mushtaq, Aakib & Sohel had no place on that team tells you what they had in their disposal! But you can't compare them to Cronije's team. Just check the winning percentage of him & Akram. Akram's Pak or in general that 90's team never had consistency whereas South Africans redefined that word.Also in 99 WC they were almost as good if not better than Pak/Aus.)Lack of World cup & ofcourse Cronije's scandal has ruined the legacy but the team was a beast. No way I would compare them with the Pakistanis even though they had what I would call potentially the most talented this sport has ever seen.

Not sure you can really use Akram's winning percentage as a yardstick considering what we learned later about the dressing room at the time and fixing rumours. I suppose you could lay similar accusations against Cronje himself, and 'weather forecaster' Shane Warne. But you always got the feeling that Pakistan was the team which would chuck the big ones.

But all three teams were fantastic, no doubt about that. The eventual winners had Warne and MCGrath in their side, that side was legendary, but they lost a fantastic game in the group stages to Pakistan.

 

[proud_pakistani]

I dunno which team he means is great. Is he referring to the team that played in this T20 World Cup or its a general comment of the team of his era. Any how I cant see it being great if these guys have failed to win 1 ICC tournament. Considering India is the cricket power house they last won an ICC tournament in 2011 so how can you call them great?

 

[sajsultan]

greatest team with nothing to show for it... so does that mean Shastri and Kohli have been one of the worst coach and captain of all time.. if Shastri agrees with that, then I will give you one of the greatest team of all time..

 

[VForVendetta]

Not sure you can really use Akram's winning percentage as a yardstick considering what we learned later about the dressing room at the time and fixing rumours. I suppose you could lay similar accusations against Cronje himself, and 'weather forecaster' Shane Warne. But you always got the feeling that Pakistan was the team which would chuck the big ones.

But all three teams were fantastic, no doubt about that. The eventual winners had Warne and MCGrath in their side, that side was legendary, but they lost a fantastic game in the group stages to Pakistan.

I guess we'll never ever witness another world cup where you would have three equally matched legendary teams.
You mentioned that group match Pak won. Well in turn they lost a fantastic one to SA. Who in turn lost one & chocked in another against Aussis. Before the final, all the 4 matches played between these were tight classic ODI matches.
I don't know why you feel Pak was the team who could chuck the big ones. If so,then why did they mess up in 96 or 98? As I mentioned earlier they were the most gifted side humanly possible. But they didn't achieve even the 1/4th of those potential. Aussis on the other hand did & I would say that SA team reached atleast 60% of their potential.
Yes they had Glenn & Shane, both peaking at that period. But Pak had even more. Wasim,Saqi,Shoiab, Razzaq & Mahmud at their peak(as bowlers). SA had Donald & Pollock firing from full cylinder. Then you add Kallis, Klusner it's not a unit to mess with. Who did Aussis had apart from those 2? I guess Fleming. Other options like Riffel & Moody were laughable. No I think the real difference maker was Steve. He was far cooler, calculative & manupulative than his Pak/African counterparts. Not to forget that GOAT innings he played.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

I don't think India will win trophies in the future as well with this arrogance. Greatest team of all time couldn't even beat NZ in WTC final.

 

[JaDed]

Kiwis are one of the greatest cricket team of this decade. KW once in a generational talent.

 

[Aman]

Kiwis are one of the greatest cricket team of this decade. KW once in a generational talent.

If we win this WT20, no question it would have been our decade.

Otherwise we'll be on par with other teams.

 

[Mirpur express]

Greatest Asian Test team of all time but underachieved in LOIs. They have been considerably unlucky though.

Overall, a phenomenal team and Shastri should be very proud of his contribution.

Would love to see him back in the commentary box.

Lmao not a single ICC tournament won in the last ten years .. where’s the greatness v good test team no doubt but kuch zyaada ni ho gya? it’s expected from you anyway *

 

[Napa]

Only in Tests, in limited overs it hasn’t been great.

 

[Aman]

Lmao not a single ICC tournament won in the last ten years .. where’s the greatness &#55357;&#56900; v good test team no doubt but kuch zyaada ni ho gya? it’s expected from you anyway &#55358;&#56614;&#55356;&#57341;*

I wouldn't change our results for theirs.

 

[street cricketer]

I wouldn't change our results for theirs.

Neither would I to be completely honest.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

I guess we'll never ever witness another world cup where you would have three equally matched legendary teams.
You mentioned that group match Pak won. Well in turn they lost a fantastic one to SA. Who in turn lost one & chocked in another against Aussis. Before the final, all the 4 matches played between these were tight classic ODI matches.
I don't know why you feel Pak was the team who could chuck the big ones. If so,then why did they mess up in 96 or 98? As I mentioned earlier they were the most gifted side humanly possible. But they didn't achieve even the 1/4th of those potential. Aussis on the other hand did & I would say that SA team reached atleast 60% of their potential.
Yes they had Glenn & Shane, both peaking at that period. But Pak had even more. Wasim,Saqi,Shoiab, Razzaq & Mahmud at their peak(as bowlers). SA had Donald & Pollock firing from full cylinder. Then you add Kallis, Klusner it's not a unit to mess with. Who did Aussis had apart from those 2? I guess Fleming. Other options like Riffel & Moody were laughable. No I think the real difference maker was Steve. He was far cooler, calculative & manupulative than his Pak/African counterparts. Not to forget that GOAT innings he played.

I'm not sure you understood me correctly. That Pakistan side was the most gifted I've ever seen, they had match-winners right through the team. No one has a divine right to win trophies though, my point was, that some of the allegations of fixing certainly cast a shadow over the more dubious performances. They didn't turn up at the final after having been brilliant all tournament. Maybe they just had a bad day, but in the back of your mind you always wonder if there was someone making money off of certain outcomes.

Aussies might have only had two big players in McGrath and Warne in your eyes, but they defeated an entire team by themselves basically.

 

[Ab Fan]

In Tests, it is the fourth greatest of all-time. Unfortunately, in LOIs, it is currently third best of this generation. A world cup 2023 win can bring us back that claim to throne because even England have only one win (2019 WC) and New Zealand have one tie and a few more finals.

 

[Sunzi]

What else was he going to say as an outgoing coach on the back of a poor tournament exit?

They have been one of the great sides in cricketing history for me. ICC achievements during this period would have cemented their status but the absence of those titles doesn't detract from the quality of the cricket they play and approach to the game.

This side, built upon from Dhoni's reign, has laid the foundations for future generations of Indian cricket. They will only get better. Dhoni's laid the foundation, Kohli's has enforced it and evolved it and future generations will adopt the ultra competitive and aggressive brand of cricket that they play.

 

[Zaz]

In Tests, it is the fourth greatest of all-time. Unfortunately, in LOIs, it is currently third best of this generation. A world cup 2023 win can bring us back that claim to throne because even England have only one win (2019 WC) and New Zealand have one tie and a few more finals.

Not even close to being 4th greatest of all time That is rubbish

Its been a very good test team but not greatest of anything, not even close

 

[OMB]

In Tests, it is the fourth greatest of all-time. Unfortunately, in LOIs, it is currently third best of this generation. A world cup 2023 win can bring us back that claim to throne because even England have only one win (2019 WC) and New Zealand have one tie and a few more finals.

India certainly staking their claim to be one of the greatest team in ODI now.
Cup would cement the place in history and definitely wishing for this, but if not, no regrets. we all still live in a happy place