EJ Explains: Is Ravi Shastri the best ever Team India coach?

Ravi Shastri retires as Team India's head coach with his tenure coming to an end after a disastrous outing at World T20 in the UAE. Despite not winning a single ICC title with Virat Kohli as the captain, can the Ravi Shastri-era still be called the best for Team India?

Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri's partnership might have ended without an ICC trophy but their stint has been an impressive one.

Enviable home record

Ever since Shastri was appointed as the full-time coach of the Indian team on July 13, 2017, India became a force to reckon with at home. They played 137 international games on home soil, out of which, they lost only 37.

2 big Test series wins in Australia

India hadn't won a Test series in Australia in their 71 years of Test cricket history but that changed under Shastri. Virat Kohli's men conquered The Aussies in their own backyard in 2018-19 and became the first Asian team to achieve that feat. Shastri had then termed this milestone as big as the 1983 World Cup victory. India proved that it wasn't a flash in the pan as they breached the Australian fortress once again with a 2-1 Test series win a couple of years later.

WTC final

Under Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli, India emerged as a Test cricket powerhouse. With in-form batters, quality spinners and a lethal pace attack, India reached the final of the inaugural World Test Championship. Though they stumbled on the final hurdle against New Zealand 1 match can't take away what they did in whites during the 2 years leading up to the WTC final.

Leading a Test series in England

Ravi Shastri had often termed the Indian team of the present as the best travelling side in the world and Kohli's men walked the talk under him. Team India proved their mettle in England too, as they led the 5-match Test series 2-1, before the final match in Manchester was postponed due to Covid-19 cases in the Indian camp. On the tour, India conquered The Oval in 4th Test, their 1st Test win at the venue since 1971.