How smoothly is Indian cricket moving from the era of Shastr’s hyperbolas to the pragmatic era of Dravid?

If you’re looking for statistics related to cricket coaching, you’ll find valuable little. The main statistical databases were not designed to contain them, and as such the cricket coach does not seem to be as important as the Football Manager, for example. But there is no denying the fact that the right coach can have a huge impact on the results and even the formation of the team of the future.

Ravi Shastri’s work as an Indian coach was full of adjectives. Every win was an unprecedented win, every series win was an invitation to greatness and the crushing losses were just insignia. He had what could be considered a rare gift that blurred the boundaries and inspired trust where there was little.

His methods work too. During Shastr, India won 25 of the 43 tests. The victory percentages of the white ball cricket were also very good – 51 wins in the 76 ODI and 42 wins in the 65 T20I. The numbers make him among the best coaches in India.

When Shastri took office in 2017, he had said he expected “very little coaching” in the role, focusing more on “fine-tuning and mentoring”.

“At the highest level, cricketers are more or less established,” Shastri had said. “So it’s more about developing their mental strengths, building their self-confidence, staying organized in their daily activities, and not fussing with their style of play.”

Shastri had added: “It’s not about them being ‘taught’ about everything and telling them what and what not to do. There is very little coaching at the highest level. It’s about fine-tuning and mentoring, effective communication.”

Shastri had also argued that “it’s always the captain’s team and the leader is the one who fires.” It was a creed that he lived as a coach.

But now that Dravid is ready to begin his tenure, one can’t help but wonder how different it will be.

If Shastri was an era of hyperboles, Dravid is expected to be largely an era of pragmatism. He strives to deal with things in the most realistic way possible, and it also became clear at his first press conference as head coach of India.

“I can’t coach the same way I did at U-19 or India A level,” Dravid said as head coach of his first series on the eve. “You have to change. The teams you coach have unique challenges. This is an opportunity to get to know the players and learn what they want. You have to shape yourself to get the best players. That’s my philosophy.”

And as much as it’s a learning experience for Dravid, it’s also an adjustment time for the team. Dravid’s methods are different from Shastrin’s, and as always, some players grab it easily, while others may take a little longer to get used to it.

Defeat under Dravid is an opportunity to learn – an opportunity to grow … and not an opportunity to blame someone.

“Failure is very important,” Dravid had once said. “When we fail, we often tend to brush things under the rug. We blame someone, we always tend to find an excuse. When you do such things, you lose the opportunity to fail well. When you fail, you have a chance to understand yourself. Failure will teach you to deal with difficult situations. The more you put yourself in line, the more you learn to become better. ”

First, also expect more data analysis, especially in white ball cricket. But he doesn’t blindly trust the information, but hopes it will encourage the captain to act on his instincts if he so desires.

“Primarily looking at numbers is probably a mistake, but ignoring them is also a mistake,” Dravid had said in 2019. “I don’t want to use numbers to look back, I’m more interested in numbers that help me make decisions. I think cricket also has a human element. So you can’t look at the numbers blindly.You can’t go blindly to a player and say, “These are the numbers, so this is what you have to do.” That’s why you have to look at the whole picture. so.

He added: “Even as a coach, you sometimes want captains who don’t just go by the numbers. Sometimes you want captains to do their own thing. Sometimes the numbers may say that X has to bow a certain over, but sometimes the captain may get the feeling that this bowler isn’t ready for it today. Numbers can measure someone if they carry their nose. Numbers cannot measure whether someone is ready for it. You can sense it, but you can’t put a number on it. “

Dravid’s experience as India’s U-19 and India A coach also makes him make the most of the country’s talents. His work at NCA also means that he is very aware of what each player brings to the table, which in turn reduces settling time.

But the challenge before him is not easy. India’s batting lineup has struggled in the Tests, the momentum attack has expired, the team seems to be somehow approaching the World Cup still in test mode. Still, under Dravid, you don’t expect the team to panic at all. Rather, you expect his peaceful ones to help them cope with it without fuss or hype.

At the end of the day, he will be judged on the results, but with Dravid, you know it’s never perfect.