When Ravi Shastri left Sourav Ganguly at the hotel

In an interview with Gaurav Kapur on Breakfast with Champions, India Head Coach Ravi Shastri talked about the day when he left Sourav Ganguly at the hotel.

In the interview, Ravi Shastri compared and contrasted the Indian World Cup victories in 2011 and 1983. No one gave India a chance against the likes of Clive Lloyd, Malcolm Marshall, Sir Vivian Richards, Joel Garner, Michael Holding and Sir Andy Roberts in 1983. However, a Kapil Dev led side caused an upset in the final to beat the mighty Windies.

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“In 1983, we were the underdogs. Everyone suggested us to just go and give our best shot, there were no expectations. But 2011 was huge for various reasons. The tournament was in India, no team had a World Cup whilst hosting. Everyone wanted India to win,” head coach Ravi Shastri said.

Ravi Shastri is known for his punctuality in the cricketing circles. He self-admittedly says, “I’m never the one to give excuses. For me, decency demands that you’re punctual. It’s a great quality to have, especially when you’re involved with a team. Even in the Indian team, punctuality is paramount. If the bus is scheduled to leave at 9, it will leave at 9.”

The incident dates back to the time when Ravi Shastri was the manager of the Indian side in 2007. The team was in Bangladesh for a bilateral series and the first practice session was to be held in Chittagong. However, Sourav was fast asleep and failed to catch the team bus.

Shastri recollected the incident on the interview saying, “This was in Bangladesh back in 2007 when I became the manager. The first practice session was in Chittagong. We were supposed to leave at 9 and when I suggested we should leave, the local managers said Dada (Sourav Ganguly) didn’t arrive as yet. I said Dada can come in a car, let’s leave.”