In forgetting history, Ravi Shastri has put pressure on Virat Kohli & Co.

Add as a preferred source on Google

Bengaluru, August 2: Comparing eras, especially in a sporting context, is quite odious and a futile exercise. The sports' DNA is flexible and transforms with the age, society and technology. Even the demands on the sportspersons change, irrevocably.

Team India head coach Ravi Shastri, who should know this fact because he is a sportsperson himself, made that gaffe on Monday (August 1) when he placed the young team of Virat Kohli ahead of some of the past Indian outfits. His reason: They managed to beat Sri Lanka at their home in 2015.

Shastri is factually correct in saying that no other Indian squad has tasted victory in Sri Lanka till 2015 after Mohammed Azharuddin's side conquered the shores in 1993. Since Azhar's time, four Indian captains came to Lanka with their respective teams - Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. None of them emerged victorious from those expeditions.

"A lot of big names came to Sri Lanka several times in the last 20 years and they never won a Test series. But Virat Kohli's team has done that," Shastri said with his characteristic bombast. However, when that 'tracer bullet' persona emerged, Shastri, unfortunately, lost his historical perspective.

When those four captains landed in Lanka, the islanders had some of the finest cricketers, not just in their Test history that started in 1981 but in the entire history of cricket, in their ranks.

A quick reminder to those names: Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Marvan Attapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene. India's golden generation had its reflection in Lankan line-up.

Some other Indian teams, particularly the ones at the turn of this millennium, had scripted some wonderful wins abroad. Under Sourav Ganguly, India had won a series in Pakistan (2003-04) and drawn a well-fought series in Australia (2004). Under Rahul Dravid, India posted series win in the West Indies (2006) and England (2007). Under Dhoni, India had defeated New Zealand in their yard (2008-09). Oh! there was a victory in Johannesburg, South Africa (2006), too.

At various times, Shastri himself had told us about those wins in his resonating voice. Perhaps, he has forgotten those moments. Or he was wilfully defying history.

The former Indian skipper then went on to say: "This team is used to doing things that a lot of other teams haven't done and that too overseas. When you say overseas like South Africa, England, it is a lot of tough cricket coming up and I see it as an opportunity. I am very positive that this team can do things that probably no other Indian team has done."

Unfortunately, his words have heaped pressure on this young bunch. India might go on to win this series against Sri Lanka. But Kohli and boys will soon be embarking on trips to South Africa, England and Australia and they will certainly encounter bleak days.

There his statement, frivolous as it may sound, will comeback to harrow him and the team. Those want to defy and challenge history always had an uphill climb. That's what history taught us.

OneIndia News