Hyderabad (Telangana) [India]: Former India cricketer Ravi Shastri who was honoured with the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award on Tuesday, picked India’s Gabba Test victory as the “icing on the cake” moment of his career.
Shastri has lived through moments of glory in his playing days as well as when he took the management of the Indian Cricket team.
From lifting the 1983 World Cup to commentating while MS Dhoni struck the six to win the 2011 World Cup final, Shastri picked India’s historic Gabba Test victory as the “icing on the cake” of his career.
“To pick one it will be difficult, you showed one in 1985 it was the final against Pakistan so it was a special night at Melbourne. 1983 being on that balcony at the Lord’s when India won the World Cup there are hundreds in West Indies double hundreds in Australia. But commentary, the World Cup final when MS (Dhoni) hit that ball for six and of course in 2007 when they won the T20 World Cup, but if you ask me the icing on the cake was that last day at the Gabab when we went past the finishing line with Rishabh Pant taking us home has to be the icing on the cake, that is the most expensive medal you will ever get,” Shastri said during the event.
It took 32 years and two months, but the unthinkable was achieved as an injury-ravaged young Indian team beat Australia by three wickets against all odds in the final Test to take the series 2-1.
Shastri went on to talk about the growth of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that he has witnessed during the 40 years of his life.
“It certainly is, I thank the BCCI for bestowing this honour on me. It is four decades in the game when you have not missed the beat and you have been involved with Indian cricket right through. It is a very touching moment for me because when I started my cricket at the age of 17 and I finished at 31 as a player at 30 in fact BCCI were my guardians right through. They showed me the path to play the sport at a time when bucks weren’t big in the game. But there was pride in playing for the country. I saw BCCI grow up in these 40 years of mine to become a powerhouse in world cricket and because of that generations after generations of players benefitting. So for me, this is a very special evening,” Shastri added.
Along with Shastri, Farokh Engineer was also honoured with the prestigious Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award.
