Ravi Shastri reveals one thing he never shared with his Indian teammates in the 80s

Former Indian cricket captain Ravi Shastri is one of the most influential personalities as far as cricket is concerned. Since Ravi Shastri's arrival in the cricketing fraternity, it’s hard to recollect a time period when he wasn’t an instrumental part of Indian cricket. As a cricketer, the manager-cum-coach of the Indian team or even as a broadcaster, Shastri is associated with many moments which Indian fans cannot forget till date.

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Ravi Shastri has always been a team man who has prioritized the team's interests over his own. Whenever he speaks about the team's success of failure, he is known to address it in terms of 'we' rather than 'me'. But there was one instance where Ravi Shastri prioritized himself over the Indian team which he revealed on a chat show.

Ravi Shastri shares interesting story from 1985 World Championship of Cricket

While speaking on a talk show Breakfast with Champions, Ravi Shastri revealed that the only time he prioritized himself over the team was after the semi-final of 1985 World Championship of Cricket in Australia. The Player of the Series was set to win an Audi A6 Sedan. Ravi Shastri imitated Kapil Dev by saying that when the discussion about the prize was ongoing after the semi-final, Kapil Dev claimed that he was alright with sharing the car. Jimmy Amarnath said that the one who wins it will keep it.

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Ravi Shastri said that if he wins the car, he wasn't going to share it. He added that if anyone wanted to share something, they can share the stepney lying in the car boot. He further said that over the years, prizes like fridges, air conditioners, fans etc. were taken by the recipient of the prize and then just because it was a car, they wanted to share it.

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Ravi Shastri further said that after he won the Audi A6, he started it and took it for a spin along with his teammates who were already sitting inside. The wicketkeeper-batsman Sadanand Viswanath, who was wearing spikes, damaged the Audi A6 car. His teammates also spoilt the seats by opening up champagne bottles and made a mess of the car. Ravi Shastri revealed that he was gifted a new Audi A6 car, which he is said to possess till date.

Shastri's captain at the time, Sunil Gavaskar claimed on the same talk show that the former all-rounder might not admit to have actually struggled when it comes to driving that car since it was automatic. As a result, Gavaskar had to help Shastri drive it till it was spoilt completely. However, he lauded Shastri's spirit of addressing that famous Indian win by crediting his teammates more than himself despite being called the 'Champion of Champions'.

Shastri remains one of the Indian brand ambassadors of the German car manufacturers courtesy his famous exploits in that 1985 tournament, in which India defeated Pakistan in the final.

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IMAGE COURTESY: BCCI.TV