Ind vs Eng: Never thought of WTC, just took one series at a time, says Shastri
Mar 06, 2021
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], March 6 : As India booked a place in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) against New Zealand, head coach Ravi Shastri said the side did not think of the Test championship and took it as one series at a time.
Team India on Saturday roared into the final of the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) following an emphatic 3-1 series win over England.
Shastri said changing the rule of the WTC qualification in between the tournament when India was leading the table wasn't something that impressed the boys.
"It's a great feeling to win the series. It's satisfying to see the youngsters perform in tough situations. The way Pant and Washi played... pressure was on us but from there to get to 360 was incredible. The boys just took one series at a time. Never thought of the Test championship. Things got changed when we were top of the table and when we were not playing. The first Test in Chennai could have been different with a bit more rest," Shastri said in the post-match presentation.
Earlier, ahead of the fourth and final Test of the series against England, India skipper Virat Kohli had said the WTC is a distraction for them as the team is already motivated enough to play Test cricket or any form of the game.
"To be brutally honest it (WTC) might work for teams that are not motivated enough to play Test cricket. Teams like us who are motivated to play Test cricket and want to win Test matches and keep the Indian cricket team at the top of the world in Test cricket we have no issues whatsoever whether it is WTC or not," Kohli had said in a virtual press conference.
"I think for teams like us, it is just a distraction when you start thinking of WTC. Eventually, it is only a game of cricket. World Cup final, semifinal anything you take it is the game of cricket at the end of the day. And if you are not motivated to play a normal game of cricket and extra motivated to play a game of cricket which has some incentive to it for me, as an individual that is unacceptable. We as a team have never played with that mindset. For us any game is important, we are going to go for result whenever an opportunity presents itself that's why people want to watch us as a team now," he had added.
