'Leave everything behind' – Shastri's advice to Rob Key on making transition from commentary box
Key was appointed the Managing Director of England Men's team on 17 April and has been tasked with overseeing the transition of the team. His first order of business will be to appoint the new Test captain after Joe Root stepped down from the role earlier this month.
There's perhaps nobody who understands the role better than Shastri, who donned a similar hat when he took over as the India team director in 2014, much before he was made head coach. Much like Key, Shastri made the transition from the commentary box.
"Rob may have more work with the domestic game but, when it comes to the national team, it is very similar," Shastri told the Guardian. "The most important thing is getting among the players and setting a tone from the outset: what you believe in, what you think of them and changing the mindset to compete and win. You have to be bullish and brutish in wanting to achieve that. For us, and now England, it was about setting the challenge of winning abroad, big time."
Under Shastri, India continued to be a force at home in Tests, but they also racked up victories overseas regularly. India twice defeated Australia away from home, whitewashed Sri Lanka and West Indies, and currently lead the incomplete series against England 2-1 – the final Test will be played in July this year.
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Shastri knows all too well the challenge Key faces when it comes to making the move from the commentary box. "You leave everything you said as a commentator behind," he said. "Park it. When I was the director of the team, it was about diagnosing problems: I was asked to hire and fire, whoever I wanted I could get in and whoever I didn’t could be shown the door.
"And it was also outlining how we want to play: to be aggressive and ruthless, to up the fitness levels, to get a group of fast bowlers to take 20 wickets overseas."
Since 2017, England have lost 17 overseas Test – an unwanted record they hold alongside Bangladesh. Key faces a big task in getting the team back on track, and Shastri said it was crucial to instil a fighting mindset in the side.
“Tell your players to embrace the culture of a country, mix with its people, understand who they are, then give them everything, so they know a force is coming for them,” he said.
“Give it right back and get some runs. Stand up, have the stomach for a fight and, when you get the ball, give it right back, no compromise. It’s all about results but the goodwill if you succeed? Well, you don’t get that as a player or a commentator.”
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Days before Key was appointed, Joe Root stepped down as the captain of the Test side following series losses to Australia and West Indies. The ace all-rounder Ben Stokes is one of the names that has been overwhelmingly tipped to take over the mantle from Root.
Shastri backed Stokes to turn the team's fortunes around. “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,” he said.
"The important relationship is with the captain – the moment there is friction, things go downhill. 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."