Ravi Shastri, the former India batter and coach, has a presence that’s tough to match. He made a name for himself with his powerful batting in the ‘80s and later coached Team India from 2017 to 2021. Under his leadership, India clinched the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia 2-1 in 2021, including that memorable win at the Gabba.
One of the fun things about Shastri is how he conducts the toss during matches. He brings a lot of energy and has a way of introducing the captains that really engages the fans. Recently, Indian ODI captain Rohit Sharma shared a funny moment from the T20 World Cup 2024 match against Pakistan in New York. He got so caught up in what Shastri was saying during the toss that he forgot he was holding the coin and everyone was waiting for him to flip it. Even Babar Azam, the Pakistan captain, found it amusing.
Rohit joked, “Look at Ravi Shastri, I’m enjoying that. In the middle of everything, I forgot that the coin was with me. Even Babar was laughing. It was all fun.”
In that match, India only managed to score 119 runs after being put to bat by Pakistan. But things turned around dramatically as Jasprit Bumrah took 3 wickets for just 14 runs, helping India restrict Pakistan to 113 runs and win by six runs. India eventually won the T20 World Cup 2024 after beating South Africa by seven runs in the final, ending a 13-year wait for an ICC trophy since their last win in the 2013 Champions Trophy. Nine months later, Rohit also led India to victory in the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai, adding two ICC titles to his captaincy.