Ex-coach Ravi Shastri glad his remarks on Kuldeep Yadav fired up Ravichandran Ashwin

A couple of days back, veteran Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin had revealed that he was left hurt by former Indian coach Ravi Shastri. During the 2018-19 Australia tour, Shastri had called chinaman Kuldeep Yadav the best Indian spinner. Consequently, as Ashwin was left hurt by it, Shastri has now expressed his happiness for the same.

Incidentally, Ashwin was injured after the opening Test in Adelaide. Although he recovered by the fourth Test in Sydney, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav were already set spinners for the side by then. Moreover, the latter produced a five-wicket haul to ensure India wins its first-ever historic Test series Down Under.

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Responding to Ashwin's comments, Shastri spoke during the Indian Express' eAdda, as he reckoned, "Now, if that hurt some other player, then I would say good. In hindsight, I'm glad I made that statement and Ashwin has made this statement because if it hurt him and he was upset, I'm glad the way he went about his job."

"I'm the kind of coach who will want a player to go inside and say, 'I'm going to show his coach I'm going to teach him a lesson and show him what I'm all about'. So, if it upset him, I'm delighted. If it made him do something different, which he did, I'm thrilled because the way he was bowling in 2019 and the way he bowled in 2021 in Australia was chalk and cheese," he added.

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Although Ashwin struggled with injuries between 2018-20, he bounced back towards the end of last year with the Australian tour, where he managed to churn out wickets, even on bouncy tracks. He looks all set to surpass Kapil Dev as the second-highest Indian wicket-taker in Tests. Furthermore, Shastri believes that he has improved his fitness of late, leading to a resurgence in his form.

"It was a message clearly to him that you've got to be fit. I think he's worked harder on his game than anybody else, and he's world-class. Let me tell you; he's the best spinner in the world now. The way he's bowling now and the way he's worked on his fitness and if you look at the way he's bowling of late, I think he has a great opportunity now that he's the lone frontline spinner there in South Africa to go out there and win the series for India," he concluded.