No, I actually think Shastri himself is signifcantly more nuanced and complex than how people portray him. He's far from a one-dimensional character, his whole career is testament to this. The fighting spirit, mentality, and sheer doggedness that has become a hallmark of this Indian team is exactly how Shastri was during his playing career.
Ignore the way he talks or portrays himself in the media, that's all superficial rubbish which is meaningless in the grand scheme of things. He was always known as an intelligent cricketer with signficant tactical know-how. Technically he is obviously not all that, but the idea that he has improved as a coach over the last few years is not very far-fetched.
At the end of the day, many people don't like him, and that's fair enough, but the blank refusal from Indian fans to credit this turnaround to a hundred other factors other than his coaching staff is still hilarious.
You might be right about Shastri's nuance. We might never know.
If he is given zero credit for this performance, then it's wrong.
But I am not sure about this turn-around attributed to him.
He has been with the team for 3 years (excluding his prev stint before Kumble). And we have fumbled from one fiasco to another in terms of selection, strategy, etc.
In Asia and WI, we didn't pay the price cos some players played OUT of their skin to save India.
But in SA and Eng, we did pay the price.
Now everything seems to be clicking perfectly.
Rahane came on board.
Every single selection in MCG was spot on and he had to make 3-4 changes where mistakes are highly likely.
The body language of seniors was different.
It was not about a player (Kohli) anymore. This was a Rahane's, Ashwin's, Pujara's, Rohit's, Bumrah's team as anyone else's.
And the mindset of players felt different.
It was like everyone was playing to prove a point.
There was fear or insecurity (which was very palpable before Kohli left).
Then SCG came and our bats royally messed up.
And that triggered a survival mechanism which I honestly hadn't seen in Indian cricket in a long long time.
We prevailed.
And now in Gabba where the team had to go with a rookie attack.
Sundar's selection and Kuldeep's exclusion raised some eyebrows but it turned out to be spot on. Still feel Kuldeep should have played. Anyways....
The point being.....
Compare this tour to the SA, Eng tours where made changes and there was a HEAVEN & EARTH difference.
Yes, Shastri has been a positive influence (Thakur credited what his knock to Shastri) but
there's something else happening in the background.
What I don't know.
But it seems to be working.
I have never seen an Indian team fighting like this against all odds.
Ever.
If Shastri could do all this himself, he would have shown it before.
Another theory could be that Shastri ain't the issue....It's his combo with Kohli which is where that guy's dominating personality over-rides everything.
Anyways, we can only speculate.
vindicated again.
