Ajit Agarkar believes neither head coach Ravi Shastri nor Team India will be affected by speculation about him stepping down after this year’s T20 World Cup. The former pacer said people will always propose ‘opinions’ but Shastri won’t be ‘bothered’ by them easily.
The media has been brimming with reports about Ravi Shastri taking the exit route after the marquee tournament alongside some members of his coaching staff.
There is also conjecture about who might replace him, with Rahul Dravid and current batting coach Vikram Rahtour’s names doing the rounds.
“I don’t think the squad will be unsettled. I mean, how can you stop speculation? If someone has to write or say something, it’s their opinion. I can’t imagine Ravi being bothered by it. Ideally, if that doesn’t happen, great. I can only talk about my personal experience, I haven’t read about this much,” said Ajit Agarkar during a media interaction organized by Sony.
“I can’t imagine Ravi worrying about these speculations. Clearly it’s not bothering them (the team), they are one up in the series and had a chance of going two up if play had happened in Nottingham. So, no, I don’t think it bothers Ravi, having known him for a while now.”
Ravi Shastri, a former national captain himself, has been in the position of head coach since 2017. His tenure so far has seen Team India scale unprecedented heights, with Test wins in Australia, England and South Africa.
However, the highlight is still the team’s inability to win an ICC trophy despite reaching the final or semi-final of all major events.
Ajit Agarkar further said the future of Ravi Shastri’s coaching career will depend explicitly on Team India’s performance.
He said if the team continues to do well in the coming months, it will be difficult not to extend his contract beyond the T20 World Cup.
“His (Ravi Shastri’s) contract ends after the T20 World Cup, right? If the team is doing well and you are winning, it’s always a difficult decision. Even when Anil (Kumble) was the coach, there were applications asked so it’s common when a contract is up for renewal… How does it matter what I think on whether he should continue or not? (chuckles)
“Eventually it’s the performances which tell you whether X should continue or not. This is a performance oriented industry and if the team’s doing well it would hard to dislodge someone,” Ajit Agarkar, who played 221 internationals for India, added.
Team India won the second Test against England at Lord’s by 151 runs and will now take the field in the third match at Headingley on August 25.
