How Do You Know Ravi Shastri Isn't Giving A Rocket To Those Overstepping The Line: Sunil Gavaskar

Ravi Shastri was rewarded by the BCCI on Monday with a one year extension on his contract as the Director of Cricket, after the former allrounder guided the Indian team to a series win in Sri Lanka after a gap of 22 years. (Ravi Shastri's Term as India Cricket Team Director Extended till 2016 World Twenty20)

However, in the midst of all the on-field success, the one piece of criticism that has come Shastri's way is that he hasn't done enough to rein his players in, which has resulted in a few ugly scenes being witnessed on the field of play. (Ravi Shastri Says He Will be 'First Person' to Tell Ishant Sharma to be Aggressive)

But, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar doesn't see merit in this argument.

"How do you say it is not happening under his (Shastri) leadership? Because he could be giving them a rocket inside the four walls of the dressing room", Gavaskar told NDTV.

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar had recently expressed his reservations about the Shastri-Virat Kohli team, as he felt the duo were not pulling up players for misdemeanors during matches.

"I think anybody who is a captain and a coach, will come out and defend his players, but I'm pretty certain in my mind that inside the dressing room he is letting the guys who are overstepping the line say 'No that is not the way to do it'. I am pretty certain about this", Gavaskar added.

If one were to read Shastri's latest comments about Ishant's show of aggression in Sri Lanka, Gavaskar's assessment may not be too wide off the mark.

"I want him to be aggressive and I will be the first one to push him in that direction. But I will also mark the line", the former cricketer, turned commentator, turned coach had said soon after getting a contract extension by the BCCI.

Gavaskar was also all praise for Shastri's one year stint with the Indian team, describing the extension of his contract as a 'step in the right direction'.

When asked whether he would like to see Shastri given a longer run with the Indian team, till the 2019 World Cup perhaps, Gavaskar replied in the affirmative.

"Definitely. As long as the results are there. The results are very, very important. This talk about process, process, process has been going on since 2007, from Greg Chappell's time and if the results are not there you got to actually do something about it. And under Shastri, the results are there"