India, Dec. 2 -- During his tenure as team director and later as head coach, Ravi Shastri witnessed firsthand India's rise to dominance in Test cricket, especially at home. He entered the administrative setup in 2014 and remained part of the dressing room from 2017 to 2021. India's unbeaten home Test streak had begun in December 2012, long before his arrival, but Shastri was at the heart of the era that reinforced that aura.

Now, watching as a broadcaster while India suffered their second home Test series whitewash in last 12 months, the fading of that dominance was a difficult pill for him to swallow. But instead of simply expressing disappointment, Shastri issued a blunt reminder to incumbent head coach Gautam Gambhir: if India don't i...