India's lost captain

Ravi Shastri could strike the ball with awesome power and once took six sixes in an over during an Indian domestic match © Getty Images

A dour customer capable of bursts of flair on the field, Ravi Shastri was a debonair, straight-speaking individual off it, qualities that didn't exactly endear him to an Indian society that still clung largely to outdated, hypocritical Victorian values. His left-arm spin may not have been in the Bedi class, but it fetched him 151 Test wickets in a career that spanned just over a decade. But for a man who batted at ten different positions in the order, it was as an opener that Shastri enjoyed his finest moments, inspiring India's victory in the World Championship of Cricket (1985), and becoming the first India to score a double-century in Australia. His tactical nous was sadly overlooked by the selectors, but a crushing victory over West Indies in the lone Test in which he led offered a tantalizing glimpse of what might have been.

Achievements
Three successive half-centuries, and a formidable association with Krishnamachari Srikkanth spearheaded India's charge to victory in the World Championship of Cricket. His efforts were rewarded with the Champions of Champions tag, and an Audi car that a delirious team piled into during a victory lap of the MCG. In the Test arena, he will primarily be remembered for his epic 206 at Sydney in January 1992, an innings that he followed up with some canny bowling that took India agonisingly close to victory in a series that they went on to lose 4-0. And though he disputes the correctness of the decision to this day, he was the man at the non-striker's end when Maninder Singh was declared out in the Chennai Tied Test in 1986. For Mumbai, he once slammed Tilak Raj for six sixes in an over to equal the record set by the inimitable Sir Garfield Sobers.

In the Test arena, he will primarily be remembered for his epic 206 at Sydney in January 1992, an innings that he followed up with some canny bowling that took India agonisingly close to victory in a series that they went on to lose 4-0

What makes him special
Players far more talented than him wore the India cap without achieving even a smidgen of what he did. Without possessing a wide repertoire of strokes, Shastri managed to thwart some of the greatest bowlers of his age. In his 17 Tests as opener, he averaged 44.04, with four centuries, a record that only Vijay Merchant, Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag have bettered.

Finest hour
Looking back, it might seem like cricket in slow-mo, but the team that annexed the World Championship of Cricket was every bit as accomplished as that which won the World Cup in 1983. They went through the tournament undefeated and Shastri's half-centuries against Australia and New Zealand smoothed the path to the final. There, he scored an unbeaten 63 as India romped to victory over arch-rivals Pakistan.

Achilles' Heel
Though capable of thwacking the ball long distances when in the mood, his sedate approach to the game won him few admirers in his playing days, and prompted accusations of selfishness. It was perhaps an unfair accusation given that his most prolific period came at a time when Indian cricket was struggling to get over the retirement of the peerless Sunil Gavaskar. By the time Sachin Tendulkar arrived to change Indian cricket's landscape for ever, Shastri's career was nearing its end, with chronic knee trouble forcing him out of the arena at the age of 30.

His bowling was not quite out of the top draw, but Shastri still managed 151 Test wickets © Getty Images

How history views him
Many will think of him as the best captain that India never had, and it's a sad indictment of the selectors that his supposedly maverick nature - that never stopped Ian Chappell or Viv Richards - went against him. Other will remember him for his bloody-mindedness and ability to maximise the talent that he possessed. Hard as nails in keeping with the old Mumbai tradition, he gave no quarter, and asked for none.

Life after cricket
Like Gavaskar, who played a big part in his early development as a player, he made a seamless transition from the field to the commentary box. These days, he's a permanent fixture whenever India play, one of the few men with the gumption to call it as he sees it. Articulate and possessing acute awareness of the tactical mind-games that are an integral part of international cricket, he has become India's answer to Ian Chappell.

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