From India's No. 10 batter to opening superstar: The remarkable journey of a cricketer retiring at 30 and earning INR 10 crore per year

Indian cricket has been a witness to mesmerizing tales of triumph over the years, as young talents have risen to become global superstars. Names like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli have achieved demi-god status in a country where cricket is worshipped like a religion. Other greats like Rahul Dravid, Rohit Sharma, Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly, and Mohinder Amarnath have also etched their names in the annals of cricketing history for their remarkable achievements on the field.

Meanwhile, only a few managed to achieve the same success after finishing their careers on the field, and one such player is Ravi Shastri. He was one of the few flamboyant personalities from Indian cricket during the '80s, and he carried on the same persona when he quit the game and became the commentator. Shastri played the game on his own terms, announced retirement at the age of just 30, and later went on to coach the Indian team, helping it become a dominant force in red-ball cricket across the world.

Early career - Starting as number 10 batter

Rising from the ranks of Mumbai cricket, Shastri made his India debut at the young age of 18 against New Zealand in Test cricket. The spin-bowling all-rounder was scouted from domestic cricket and fast-tracked into the Indian team for the New Zealand tour. The lanky 18-year-old had an impressive start to their career with six wickets in their debut Tests. However, the Indian team underplayed him as a batter at the start, as he started off as the number 10 batter, but he didn't take much time to rise up and became the opener within 10 months. The Mumbai-born star became an integral part of the Indian Test set-up in just a couple of years, and he also started getting regular chances in the ODIs.

1983 World Cup-winner

Shastri was picked in the squad for the 1983 World Cup, where India was an underdog, and he was a young star, sothere was not much pressure on him. The spotlight was on the likes of Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Mohinder Amarnath, but winning the World Cup trophy made everyone, including Shastri, the new heroes of the country. He finished the campaign with five wickets and scored 40 runs with the bat.

6-sixes in an over

It was the 1984-85 Ranji Trophy season, and Mumbai were up against Baroda and Shastri, who had already become a big name in Indian cricket. entered to bat at number 4 in the second innings. The dynamic batter scripted history with a unique feat and smashed 6-sixes in an over to replicate Sir Garry Sobers' feat. Before that match, he had a reputation as a defensive batter but the iconic 6-sixes changed everything for him overnight.

Champions of Champions

Shastri emerged as the champion player when India's stakes were high in the World Cricket Championship. He was considered a utility player in white-ball cricket but he changed his persona completely as he scored three back-to-back half-centuries and played a crucial role in India's successful campaign. In the final, he laid the foundation for India with 103 runs for the opening wicket alongside Krisnamachari Srikkanth (67). Shastri took the team over the line with an unbeaten 63 runs.

For his eight wickets and 182 runs with the bat, he was named Player of the Tournament and won the Audi 100 car as a prize for his efforts.

Retirement from international cricket

Shastri last played for India in December 1992 against South Africa as after the Test series, a knee injury ruled him out of the field for a few months, and during that phase, he decided to bid adieu to international cricket at the age of just 30. He played 80 Tests for India, scoring 3830 runs and picking 151 wickets. Meanwhile, the 1983 WC winner represented the country in 151 ODIs and scored 3108 runs and claimed 129 wickets.

Voice of Indian cricket

Shastri continued his flamboyant persona after his retirement, stepped into the field of broadcasting, and made his debut as a TV commentator in March 1995. It didn't take him much time to become the voice of Indian cricket from the commentary box. Incidentally, he was on the mic during some of the most historic moments in Indian cricket, including MS Dhoni's match-winning six in the ODI World Cup final, Yuvraj Singh's 6-sixes in 2007 T20 WC and then Sreesanth's winning catch in the tournament's final. He was also on air when Sachin Tendulkar became the first men's player to score a maiden double century in ODIs. He took a small break from commentary during his stints as team manager and head coach of the men's team, but he returned to it after providing his services to Indian cricket.

An underrated coach

Shastri was closely associated with Indian cricket and served as team director in 2007 and 2014, however, he took big job of head coach in 2017 to fill-in the shoes of Anil Kumble, who resigned after having differences with then-skipper Virat Kohli. The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), comprising Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, had a very tricky job of choosing Kumble's successor, and they went ahead with Shastri, who had a great rapport with senior stars like MS Dhoni and Kohli on that side. He signed a whopping INR 8 crore per year contract as the Indian team's head coach. During his tenure, India failed to win an ICC title but they did become a formidable force in bilateral contests both at home and away across formats. The Men in Blue also reached the semifinals of the 2019 World Cup after topping the round-robin stage but failed to reach the finals. Despite not winning the World Cup, he signed a contract extension for a couple of years and reportedly got a 20 per cent hike and earned INR 10 crore per year.

Meanwhile, he formed a strong partnership with Kohli as, during their tenure, India became a force to reckon with in Test cricket in overseas conditions. Kohli and Co. became the first Asian team to register a Test series win on Australian soil in 2018-19. They also replicated the same success on their next tour Down Under in 2020-21. Apart from Australia, under Shastri's guidance, India also registered some memorable wins on South African and English soils, becoming one of the best touring sides in Test cricket.

However, his tenure ended on a disappointing note, with India getting knocked out of the group stage of the 2021 T20 World Cup. After a brief break, Shastri returned to the commentary box as he continues to enthral the audience with his tracer bullet stuff on the mic.

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