“Oh no, no, don’t go down that route,” replies Ravi Shastri, his familiar baritone laugh bellowing down the phone line from Mumbai when asked if he would be interested in filling the vacant position of England men’s head coach. “Haha. Oh no. Seven years with India – a full-time job, 300 days a year, 1.4 billion people judging you every day – that takes its toll. Good luck to anyone who lasts that long.”
It was a cheeky inquiry, admittedly, coming midway through a freewheeling chat to discuss the rarely attempted switch from television commentator to running a national team. Rob Key left the Sky box to become the director of England men’s cricket last week and Shastri had noted a line in the Guardian that compared this with his time as India’s equivalent from 2014 to 2016 and then a hugely successful spell as head coach from 2017 until last year, after more than two decades as a broadcaster.
