Ravi Shastri

Calcutta: Crowned the Champion of Champions during the 1985 World Championship of Cricket (WCC), Ravi Shastri knows a thing or two about the limited overs game.

Shastri, also a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team and a former captain and one-time cricket manager, spoke to The Telegraph from Brisbane on Saturday afternoon.

Currently chairman of the National Cricket Academy, Shastri is in Australia on a TV assignment.

The following are excerpts

On what goes into the making of a champion performer in Australia

(Laughs) Actually, much depends on the quality of the team you’re in... A good team will make you look even better... Your own performance then gets showcased in a bigger manner. I say this from my own experience, in the WCC.

On his expectations from the tri-series, Australia’s last for the next two years at least, which begins on Sunday

I expect a fantastic tournament... The world champions being challenged by two very good teams... Today, the only tri-series to rival this would probably be between Australia, South Africa and New Zealand...

On whether, with all the attention on India and Australia, the pressure is off Sri Lanka

I’m sure the World Cup finalists aren’t just completing numbers and I’d expect them to land a few surprises... It would be foolish to write them off... It’s a good unit, make no mistake.

On the players who could make the biggest impact

For Australia: Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds... This is Gilchrist’s last tournament and he’d love to leave on an absolute high... Symonds is a top performer in ODIs and, within him, I feel there’ll be that urge to prove a point.

For India: Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, at the top of the order. Clearly, for India to have a good tournament, they need to fire. I haven’t talked of Yuvraj Singh, as there’s a cloud over his fitness.

For Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene, given what he’s done in the past year... I suppose Sanath Jayasuriya too... In fact, in pushing towards the finals, Sri Lanka will rely heavily on the old warhorse. He’s still hungry at the age of 38.

On whether, in the India versus Australia context, the momentum is with the hosts because they’ve won the Test series and the one-off Twenty20 International

Not because of that... I wouldn’t say the momentum is with Australia but, yes, they start favourites... For one, they’re playing at home and can field and throw well on the big grounds... Then, they’ve got a lot of allrounders and a good blend of experience and youth...

On whether bad blood between India and Australia could resurface during the tri-series I don’t see that happening... Forget what’s being said and written, that monkey business is over and everybody — including the fans, who’d thronged the MCG in the Twenty20 face-off — want to focus on cricket.

On whether Team India will miss seniors like Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid

No... We’ve got to look at the future and invest in youth... I don’t think we’re lacking in experience... We’ve got Sachin, Sehwag and the captain himself — Mahendra Singh Dhoni... There’s Yuvraj as well... In planning for the future, I wouldn’t be worried with a few losses and, really, I’d like to see this team after a year... So, give the boys some time. (After a pause) We’ve got an exciting team and the boys should do nothing more than play their natural game.

On our bowling, with no Zaheer Khan and Rudra Pratap Singh, being quite thin

To a degree, extent... But I liked the way Sreesanth bowled yesterday (Friday, at the MCG)... He was fast and looked fit, which definitely augurs well.

On the five things Team India must do

Bat well at the top of the order... Indeed, perhaps more than anywhere else, you need a good start in Australia... Unless circumstances warrant a right-left combination, with Gautam Gambir opening with Sachin, I’d have Sehwag launching the innings with Sachin...

Field smartly... The big grounds are challenging and you’ve got to put your best foot forward...

As Yuvraj is critical to the one-day team, he’s got to recover quickly... When on song, he’s probably the best in the world in his position...

[The official word is that Yuvraj, the vice-captain, will be available for the second match, against Sri Lanka, on Tuesday. He’s recovering from an injury to his left knee.]

The pace bowlers need to stick to the basics and do what they’re good at... There’s no point trying to be different because it’s Australia...

Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla will need to produce good performances... I assume there would be a case for playing both, in Adelaide perhaps, and they’ll have to raise the bar...

On his advice for Dhoni

Nothing much really... He has captained well so far and can only improve... He’s got a young team and getting the best out of them shouldn’t be a problem.

On whether handling the temperamental Sreesanth will be Dhoni’s biggest challenge

No... Over the past year, I’m sure Sreesanth has learnt the dos and don’ts of international cricket... I’m sure he’s also learnt that on-field performances count.

Finally, on his stand out memory of India in ODIs in Australia

The WCC, without a doubt... We had a great team which played brilliantly... The quality of the collective performance enhanced my own contribution... Made me look so much better.