'There is always jealousy or a gang of people willing you to fail'- Ravi Shastri's precious advice to Rob Key

With changes in administration and personnel, the England cricket team is in disarray. Robert Key has been named as the team's new managing director and he is tasked with turning the team's fortunes around. Former Indian team head coach Ravi Shastri gave the new managing director a piece of precious advice.

Advertisment

Shastri urged Key to develop a thick skin as there will be many people who might not want him to be in that position. He revealed that he had to go through a similar situation as India's head coach.

Speaking during an interview with UK's 'The Guardian' newspaper, Shastri said that as a prominent person in a setup one has to deal with a lot of ups and downs as there will be many people who will be willing to pull him down. "I didn't have coaching badges . Level one? Level two? **** that. And in a country like India, there is always jealousy or a gang of people willing you to fail. I had a thick skin, thicker than the leather of the Dukes ball you use. A real solid hide.

"And you need a bloody hide over here. Rob will develop this as he does the job, because every day you are judged. And I am glad he has a lot of captaincy experience from his time at Kent, because communication with the players is absolutely paramount," Shastri was quoted as saying by the British newspaper."

Shastri also suggested that Key will have to sit with the former team captain Joe Root to discuss all the issues in the team. "Rob will have an adjustment period to understand the issues and will need to speak in detail with Joe Root for his experiences as Test captain. But in my 24 years , I did not miss a beat or a ball of Indian cricket.

"And he (Key) will have covered a huge amount too. So you're not lagging behind by an inch, you're abreast of what a team requires but also what other teams are doing. You should be able to leapfrog over all those early issues and get into the nitty-gritty straight away," he said.

Speaking of the team's captaincy, Shastri said that Ben Stokes is a good candidate to lead the team, adding that Stokes could thrive under this responsibility. "The adrenaline of captaincy – not that he needs it – could fire Stokes up to be something even more than the incredible player he is now. The important relationship is with the captain – the moment there is friction, things go downhill.

Advertisment

"But they will be fine because the England I saw last year, they have enough talent and skill to compete. There's no doubt about that in my mind. It's all about their mindset," Shastri concluded