Ravi Shastri

Ravishankar ("Ravi") Jayadritha Shastri (born 1962-05-27 in Mumbai (Bombay), India) is a former Indian cricketer. He was an all–rounder who batted right–handed and bowled left arm spin. His international career started when he was 18 years old and lasted 12 years. He started his career purely as a bowler but gradually became more of a batsman who could bowl.

The 'Champion of Champions'

Except for a few series in Pakistan and the 1983 World Cup final, the World Championship of Cricket in Australia was the first time overseas cricket matches were shown live in India. The WCC saw India win every match convincingly. The WCC was conceived as a celebration of the 150th year of the formation of Victoria, but the finalists turned out to be India and Pakistan. {{ref|ODW}} {{ref|IC85}}

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Shastri had a slow start to the tournament but finished with fifties in the last three matches. Srikkanth too scored three fifties and India posted century opening stands against Australia and in the final. India went in with two spinners for every match. It helped that all the matches were played at Melbourne and Sydney which have turning tracks and long boundaries. Sivaramakrishnan and Shastri claimed 18 wickets between them in five matches.

Related Topics:
Australia - Melbourne - Sydney

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For his 182 runs and 8 wickets, Shastri was chosen as the man of the series which in this particular tournament was called 'The Champion of Champions'. He won an Audi–100 car for his efforts{{ref|car}}. By the special order of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Indian customs waived the heavy duty its import would have normally entailed.

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Two weeks later India won the Rothman's cup in Sharjah beating Pakistan and Australia. The victory against Pakistan was particularly memorable because India defended a total of only 125. Shastri and Siva continued their successful partnership with the ball. It was for this tournament that Shastri served as the Indian vice captain for the first time. Gavaskar had announced his decision to resign his captaincy at the end of the WCC, even before the tournament began. Before the final, former Australian captain Ian Chappell suggested that for the good of Indian cricket, Gavaskar should continue as the captain till Shastri could take over from him{{ref|Sw2}}.

Related Topics:
Sharjah - Pakistan - Ian Chappell

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The final of the Ranji trophy between Bombay and Delhi began two days after the end of the Sharjah tournament. Gavaskar and Shastri returned via Bahrain, only reaching India the morning of the match. Dilip Vengsarkar, another Indian player who was a member of the Mumbai team, who had arrived a day earlier withdrew from the match with a groin injury, which made it imperative that both should play.

Related Topics:
Bahrain - Dilip Vengsarkar

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