Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri, popularly known as Ravi Shastri, is a former Indian cricketer, commentator and coach. He represented India in Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket between 1981 and 1992, primarily as a left-arm orthodox spinner and a middle-order batsman who later opened the batting. After retirement, he became one of the most recognisable English-language cricket commentators of his generation and subsequently served as the head coach of the Indian men's cricket team.
| Full name | Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 May 1962, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra |
| Batting | Right-handed |
| Bowling | Slow left-arm orthodox |
| Role | All-rounder |
| Test debut | 21 February 1981 vs New Zealand, Wellington |
| ODI debut | 25 November 1981 vs England, Cuttack |
| Last international match | December 1992 |
| Domestic team | Bombay (Mumbai) |
| India coach (head) | 2017–2021 |
| Team Director | 2014–2016 |
Shastri was born in Bombay into a Tamil-speaking family. He attended Don Bosco High School, Matunga, and later R. A. Podar College of Commerce and Economics. He came up through Mumbai's school and college cricket structures and made his first-class debut for Bombay in the Ranji Trophy in 1979–80 while still a teenager.
Shastri was flown to New Zealand in February 1981 as a replacement and made his Test debut at the Basin Reserve in Wellington at the age of 18. He took a wicket with one of his first deliveries in Test cricket and became a regular member of the side over the next decade.
Initially picked as a number ten batsman and frontline spinner, Shastri progressively moved up the order. He famously batted at every position from one to ten in Test cricket. In a Ranji Trophy match for Bombay against Baroda in January 1985, he hit six sixes in an over off the bowling of Tilak Raj at the Wankhede Stadium, equalling the world record. In the same innings he scored 200 not out off 123 balls — at the time the fastest double-century in first-class cricket.
At the Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket held in Australia in 1984–85, Shastri was named Champion of Champions and was awarded an Audi car after India won the tournament under Sunil Gavaskar's captaincy.
Shastri captained India in one Test match — against the West Indies at Chennai in January 1988 — which India won. He was appointed captain on several occasions when Mohammad Azharuddin or Krishnamachari Srikkanth were unavailable, and led India in 11 ODIs. A persistent knee injury forced him to retire from all forms of cricket in 1992 at the age of 30.
Shastri began television commentary soon after retirement and worked with networks including ESPN Star Sports, Sony, Star Sports and the official broadcasters of the International Cricket Council (ICC). He covered multiple ICC World Cups, Champions Trophy tournaments and the Indian Premier League, and is associated with several iconic phrases in Indian cricket broadcasting, including the line accompanying M. S. Dhoni's winning six in the 2011 Cricket World Cup final.
Shastri was appointed Team Director of the Indian cricket team by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in August 2014, ahead of India's tour of England. He held the role through India's run to the semi-finals of the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, until the appointment of Anil Kumble as head coach in mid-2016.
In July 2017, after Kumble's resignation, Shastri was appointed head coach of the Indian senior men's team. His tenure was extended in 2019. Highlights of his time as coach, working with captain Virat Kohli, include:
His tenure ended after the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in November 2021, and he was succeeded by Rahul Dravid.
Shastri did not play in the IPL but has been closely associated with the league as a commentator since its launch in 2008.
Shastri married Ritu Singh in 1990; the couple later separated. He has a daughter, Aleka, born in 2007.
Ravi Shastri is regarded as one of India's most versatile cricketers of the 1980s, valued for his temperament, defensive batting and economical left-arm spin. As a broadcaster and coach he became a central figure in Indian cricket for over three decades, bridging the eras of Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. The series victories in Australia during his coaching tenure are widely considered among the most significant overseas achievements by an Indian Test side.