Ravi Shastri Reveals Being Left Out of All Selection Meetings

Former head coach of the Indian cricket team, Ravi Shastri, recently revealed in an interview with ESPNCricinfo that he had never attended a single selection meeting during his seven-year tenure with the national team. Shastri had been the team director before taking on the role of head coach. He was succeeded by Rahul Dravid after India’s elimination from the 2021 T20 World Cup. When asked about his experience of attending selection meetings, Shastri said, ‘I have zero first-hand experience [of attending selection meetings]…Seven years I was part of the team, I never went near a selection meeting. I wasn’t invited either.’

Shastri went on to explain that while he believed a coach should be invited to attend selection meetings, his absence in those meetings was intentional. He felt that his presence could have affected the relationship he had with the players. ‘I needed the trust of the player. If a player knew I was a selector or I could influence a selector/chairman of the committee, then will he open up to me? Will he have the same trust in me?’ he said. However, he also pointed out that it was important for a coach to be aware of the selectors’ thought process. ‘You spend a lot of time with the boys, it’s important, even if not in voting capacity, but to hear what the selectors are thinking, what is their train of thoughts are. And then to decide what could be the right thing for the side,’ he said.

Shastri also expressed his concerns about the selection process, stating that there were people who attended selection meetings despite not being allowed to. ‘From what I gather, there were a lot of people [in the meetings], over the last three-four years, inside selection meetings, not supposed to be there, against the constitution but pitched up,’ he said. In conclusion, Shastri believed that a coach’s attendance in selection meetings was essential, especially during a team’s rebuilding stage. ‘From my point of view, that’s why I thought it’s best to stay away, but in the long run, especially when a team is in the rebuilding stage, it’s extremely important that a coach who spends a lot of time with the players within the confines of the dressing room can give some valuable inputs,’ he said.