Ravi Shastri's Influence Helping Indian Cricket Team

Mumbai: After being hammered in the Tests, India have stunned everyone by bouncing back in style in the ODIs against England, taking a 2-0 lead.

A change in format and the arrival of inform players has helped India's cause, but what cannot be ignored is the contribution of Indian cricket's 'crisis man,' Ravi Shastri as Team Director. The benefits of his presence have already been acknowledged by Raina after the left-hander hit a splendid hundred to set up India's win in the second ODI.

The change in India's fortunes, post Shastri's induction, isn't a surprise to Mumbai's 'Class of '94'. That season, Shastri led a severely depleted Mumbai team, full of greenhorns, to the Ranji title, something that they had failed to achieve for the last decade, despite boasting of numerous stars in their line-up. Those who played under him swear by the 'Shastri effect.'

"He is a great motivator - the best captain I ever played under. The self-belief he gave all of us - particularly the youngsters, was unbelievable," former Mumbai stumper and then coach, Sulakshan Kulkarni told TOI on Monday.

Kulkarni illustrated his point. "I remember he told Amol Muzumdar, who was yet to make his First Class debut, 'Just play this game as if you are playing a U-19 match.' He ended up scoring a record 260 in his first game," he recalled.

One of the youngsters Shastri had a profound effect on that season was former India and Mumbai leggie Sairaj Bahutule. "Believe me, he is the best thing to happen to the Indian team right now - he certainly was the best thing to happen to me at that point in time. He changed the way I played my cricket. He had that special ability to bring out the best in you. He left a huge imprint on me. He was a taskmaster," Bahutule gushed.

Shedding light on Shastri's tough-as-nails approach, Bahutule revealed, "In one game, I told him I won't be able to bowl because my index finger was bleeding. He told me: 'I don't care, you have to bowl.' I eventually ended up picking up four wickets," the former leggie said.

"His attitude was typically khadoos - keep at it. At the same time, he was a friend, in whom you could confide anything. He radiated positivity. There was an aura around him. He made us believe we could beat any team," said Bahutule.

Ex-India and Mumbai seamer Paras Mhambrey, who was in his debut season in 1994, recalled another episode which reflects how Shastri backs his men. "At Faridabad, just before the pre-quarters against Haryana, I was checking the bounce on the match wicket, and received an earful from curator (Sarkar Talwar)."

Shastri saw this from the dressing room, and ran to Talwar and told him: 'You have a problem, talk to me, not him. I'm the captain.' There was no need for Shastri to do that for me, but just the fact that he did, made a huge difference to me." Mhambrey remembered.