Ravi Shastri on Zimbabwe - no need to panic

Former Indian all-rounder and current television commentator Ravi Shastri believes there is no need for panic in the Zimbabwean ranks, despite the recent poor performances of their team. He talks to John Ward about the Sri Lankan tour.

JW: Ravi, perhaps we can start with a word about yourself. You ended your Test career rather prematurely, I remember.

RS: Yes, it was more to do with injury than anything else. I injured my knee when I was playing my best cricket, in Australia, and that kept me out of the game for almost eight months. I came back ad played for India in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and my knee went again.

It was at that stage that I was very clearly told by the doctor who operated on me; he said, "Ravi, I know you won't like me saying this, but you had better choose an alternative career, because this could be a chronic problem." I didn't believe him and I tried playing for another year in first-class cricket, but then I realised that what he said was true. And that's when I decided to quit the game. It was unfortunate to have to finish the game at 32; I played my last Test at 30, just when I would expect to have four or five years of my prime ahead. If you look back and say, "Well, if that injury had happened to you when you were 22 or 23, then what?" So I'm happy with the amount of cricket I played and the people I played against.

JW: Does your knee give you any trouble now?

RS: It does; I still can't go for a run, for example, because there is still plenty of swelling, and I've lost 70 per cent of a ligament in my knee - that's something that doesn't grow back.

JW: And what have you been doing since then?

RS: Straight away I was offered work on television, and I have not looked back since. I've been doing television now for the last six years; I started in 1994, and it's been most enjoyable. I am freelance, so whenever the opportunity is there I go and do it.

JW: Have you covered a series in Zimbabwe before?

RS: I have; I was here last year when India were here.

JW: Was it your first visit to Zimbabwe when you were captain of the Young Indian team back in 1983/84?

RS: Yes, and it was a very good trip because it taught us a lot, it was a good hard trip, and I still believe that is the strongest side Zimbabwe has produced since independence. That was a very strong Zimbabwean side; we played against six or seven players who could get into any Zimbabwean team, even today - the likes of Duncan Fletcher, Dave Houghton, Andy Pycroft, Graeme Hick, Kevin Curran, a very good John Traicos. We were an Under-25 side and if you look at that team ten out of the eleven played for India within two or three years.

JW: When was your next visit?

RS: I was here for the 1991/92 inaugural Test; that was my last tour, when we also visited South Africa.

JW: What is your feeling about the Zimbabwe team at that time compared with the team today?

RS: I think there has been a lot of talk about how badly Zimbabwe is playing at the moment. Let's put it very honestly: they cannot be happy with the way they are playing at the moment, and that's understandable, but you have to realise that four or five of their top players aren't there. When they come back, it will make a huge difference to the balance of the side.

I do think at the moment that they lack self-belief more than anything. I just get the feeling that they don't have the belief that they can win. They get themselves into winning positions and then blow it away. Meanwhile just the opposite is happening with Sri Lanka. They believe they can win anything! If they are 100 for seven, they think they can pull that game through, and that's just the way it's going at the moment. I think it will take time; I think you need your key players to come back from injury, and probably learn a lot from what has happened in the last two-and-a-half or three months.

If you're prepared to learn, I always believe there's scope for improvement. But if you're bull-headed and say, "I know everything," then, my friend, on your bike! It's all a game of self-confidence. The top sides in the world are teams with that belief that they can win in any situation. Look at the Australians at the moment: they are 50 for four, and they end up getting 400; they could be 100 for six, chasing 360, and still get it. It all comes down to self-belief.

JW: Have you seen any technical or other weaknesses that need to be worked on?

RS: I think the problem you have had in Test matches is with your top order. I'm afraid there haven't been enough players who have gone on to make big scores. They have made starts, but it has been a start that ends up at 30, 40, 50, rather than someone going through and getting 100, 120. When was the last time, apart from Andy Flower, that any of the Zimbabwean players got a hundred in a Test match?

JW: Almost two years ago.

RS: So when that doesn't happen, there is very little you can do. And I must say that at times I have been amazed at the selection. It's beyond me how a guy like Eddo Brandes, if he's fit, cannot play. He must be the oldest man carrying drinks in world cricket at the moment! Why do you have a guy of 36 carrying drinks? If you don't want to play him, don't pick him in the fifteen! He's good enough to walk into the eleven - whatever people might say, this is my opinion - and whenever he's playing I do believe there's a buzz within the team. He did well in the Test match, and straight away he's sidelined! I thought Zimbabwe should have started with their strongest team in the first game.

JW: Do you feel there are any other players who should be getting more opportunity? What are your thoughts about Bryan Strang, for example, who has done well in the Tests but is omitted from the one-day side?

RS: From what I've seen, it's very difficult to make judgements on who should be given chances, because I really haven't seen the reserve strength. I really do believe that players like Murray Goodwin, Grant Flower - Neil Johnson is injured but he's a fine player - have to take more responsibility. They can't get into the forties and fifties and then get out. They are the senior players in the side now, and they've got to convert the thirties and forties into bigger scores. At times it's not the bowler getting them out; 60 or 70 per cent of the time they've given it away. There's no excuse for that.

Andy Flower has had a fantastic season and you can't ask for more; he's shown that he's Zimbabwe's best player. No doubt about that at the moment. He's consistent, he's hungry, and he's a good role model for younger players.

Bryan Strang bowled well in the Test series, and comes across as a player who knows his limitations and sticks to them. He is always a handy man to have in the team, especially when the conditions are conducive to seam and swing. Probably for the one-day side he will need to be a genuine all-rounder to hold down a regular place; he will have to be able to contribute more with the bat.

I think Ray Price is a bowler you should persevere with. He has a good temperament and just needs to relax and take his time. I was also very impressed with Everton Matambanadzo, who bowled one or two good spells in the Second Test.

To me, Henry Olonga really stood out. He had a difficult job as your strike bowler when so many others were injured, but he kept fit right through the series despite all the hard work he had to do, and impressed me very much.

JW: What do you feel the best current Zimbabwe batting order would be?

RS: I liked the little I saw of Gavin Rennie in the First Test match - and that's another problem that Zimbabwe have had because I do believe that when you change your openers in every Test match you are giving the opposition a huge advantage. Firstly, the new man who comes in is under pressure, and secondly, the opposition know they can have the best Zimbabwe batsmen in very quickly, numbers four, five and six. So I would rather have continuity there. Take one player, give him a run for three Test matches, and if he doesn't do well, fine. But give him a run, make him feel confident. Otherwise he's on the edge, knowing that 'if I don't get 30 or 40 in this game I'm out.' It's one of the toughest positions in the game, and continuity I believe is very important. It didn't happen in this series, and as a result Zimbabwe never got off to a start.

The middle order is fine; there is nothing wrong with Goodwin, Andy Flower, Neil Johnson. Alistair Campbell - I believe he's the kind of player who likes the ball coming on to the bat; if he's playing, I believe he's wasted at six. He should be up the order, maybe even at three. Then Goodwin or Johnson four, Flower five; everyone can take one step back, because he's the kind of guy who doesn't mind playing his shots and has batted at three for Zimbabwe for most of his Test career. If he's in for a while and then the spinners come on, he will handle them much better. If the worst comes to the worst and you don't have an opener, or feel all your openers are struggling, ask Campbell to open. Then go for Goodwin, Johnson, Andy Flower, and groom another player at six. Then see from there.

But when you have Heath Streak and Paul Strang, it's a different balance to the side because both can bat as well. Then you get more depth in your batting. Heath Streak's absence is crucial because he's a quality bowler, and there's no doubt about the fact that he would have made a big difference.

But having said all this, I do believe after hearing people talking, that there's no need to panic. There's absolutely no need to panic, as long as you're prepared to learn - and you can just hope that your main players come back soon. Zimbabwe have played quality sides in Australia and South Africa; Sri Lanka is an upcoming, talented side. There's nothing like going through a period when nothing goes right for you because at the end of the day you know you can't do worse than that. I do believe the learning curve starts here for Zimbabwe. If you don't know how to accept defeat, you'll never know how to win.

JW: Obviously Zimbabwe haven't been playing their best, but I get the impression Sri Lanka haven't been playing quite their best either.

RS: It's not easy for them to lose players like de Silva and Ranatunga who have played for so long. They have suddenly had to find replacements for them. But I think from what I've seen that this is the best I've seen Sri Lanka play on a tour. The bowling has been extremely disciplined, and I promise you they would have tested a lot of batting sides in world cricket, just with their discipline and the way they bowl.

Chaminda Vaas I thought was the pick of their bowlers; he's had a wonderful tour, and they have a good quartet as well with Pushpakumara, Zoysa and Wickramasinghe. The find of the tour for me: Dilshan. I think he's a real crackerjack in the making, and if he works hard at his game and tightens up his defence, I think there's a future star for you.

JW: So many Sri Lankan innings on the tour, though, have been one batsman dominating and ten others contributing little.

RS: At least they played around him. They had their problems with guys getting out for thirties and forties, for example, Russel Arnold, who got there a couple of times but couldn't really go on. But he changed all that in the last two weeks of the tour, with two very fine hundreds. He's maturing into a very fine player because he comes across as a batsman with mental toughness, who is really prepared to fight it out.

And on the whole I was very impressed with Jayasuriya's captaincy. He may not have got runs, but his time will come. But as a captain he's done very little wrong. I like the way he's marshalled his resources; he's never allowed the game to drift, he's been right on the button most of the time with his bowling changes, he's studied the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing batsmen, he knows the strengths of his bowlers, and has all the qualities that go into the making of a good captain. Plus he comes across as a good communicator on the field. When the chips are down he seems to get the best out of his boys, and that's very important.

JW: Do you think Murali has been at his best on this tour?

RS: He's a very fine spinner, and he's the kind of guy who might go a couple of matches without getting a bagful of wickets, but as he showed in the last one-day game when he's on a roll he can run through a side very quickly. In his case I think he's just got to be patient because in his case I think sides are so worried about him that they pay extra attention to seeing him off. It's not like it was at the start of his career where people would go after him and he would get wickets; now they pay him a lot of respect, so at times he's got to be patient and play the waiting game.

JW: how do you think the Zimbabweans are playing him?

RS: I think Andy Flower is playing him superbly; he's played him as well as any left-hander I've seen. If I look round the world for left-handers who have really played Muralitharan well I would say Saurav Ganguly and Andy Flower. Brian Lara of course is a champion player but I don't think he's played enough against Muralitharan at Test match level.

As for the others, it's not easy when they're not used to playing spin on turning tracks. They need to work on their game. You can see from Andy Flower, the way he worked on his game and I think he played him superbly. He knew exactly the areas he was going to score off him, and exactly the shots he was going to play against him. When you're tackling a quality spin bowler like Muralitharan, shot selection is very important. You have to blank out certain shots from your mind and just say, "I'll make him bowl here, and if he does that I'll score here. If he doesn't, I'll kick him! Or block him!" And that's exactly what he did, and if you occupy the crease you'll get runs.

JW: Have you any other comments to make about the series?

RS: As I said, Zimbabwe had their moments but were not able to sustain them. There have been games when they looked good for 60 or 70 per cent of the time, like in Bulawayo, and then thrown it away. So I think these are things they've got to learn; they've got to work at it. I have mentioned things like the continuity of the top order, picking a player you think is talented and then persevering with him. Rapid changes are going to get you nowhere. We had a season when West Indies went to England [1988], and they had four captains in five Test matches! It made no difference. The same when you change openers.

JW: What are your views on cricket generally in this country?

RS: I think it's got a lot of potential. The infrastructure is there, the facilities are there, and I do believe that once Zimbabwe start having a regular season of their own like they had this year, another three or four years when they have regular cricket being played, with a good number of Test matches and one-dayers, that can only help the Zimbabwean side. They need more exposure; you've got the right kind of climate and facilities. I believe the months of May, June and July are good months to play cricket, and it also gives you a window that's open because the only other cricket at that time of year is in England - and Sri Lanka, but that's later on in the year. You will always get teams coming to this part of the world, so that means more exposure for your players, more competition against the best, and that's where you improve. But I say there's no need to panic at this stage. Disappointed, yes, no doubt about that because they've not played to their full potential, but absolutely no need to panic. You've got to be patient.

JW: Do you think there are any areas of cricket in this country that need a bit more attention?

RS: I believe there's a cricket academy; I do believe the supply line should be very important. That should be looked into; you must always have a good Under-19 team. That will push your senior players and keep them on their toes, and you need a Zimbabwe A team travelling constantly. When that happens, you know that even the players who are in the top eleven are edgy; they want to concentrate and get runs because there'll be somebody else pushing. By making a Zimbabwe A team travel a lot, it's the young players who are getting the exposure and learning quickly.