Love him or hate him, it is very difficult to ignore the influence Ravi Shastri has on people in general.
The India head coach has fans that love him but they are outnumbered by the army of trolls, ever ready making memes about him -- distasteful ones many a times.
"I would say it's banter. They do it to have fun at my expense. I will have milk and honey and you enjoy your drink," he laughs.
"Kya farq padhta hai yaar (How does it matter, buddy?). I mean when you post those things, kitne jan haanste hai, bolte hai Ravi ke barein mein (when they post a meme, people laugh and they talk about me). It's okay as long as the team does well," said the coach, who showed a lot of spirit when socialite Shobha De posted one such meme.
From being criticised to being feted, Shastri knows the nature of fickle- minded Indian fans.
"Criticism? what's that. You know how quickly people change their opinions. So shanti rakho. Om Shanti Om."
Shastri credits his success as India head coach to his man management skills, treating each player differently, something that has paid dividends.
"I didn't know what to expect when I first took up the job. But what I have learnt in the last six years, I haven't in the past 35 years (as a player and commentator).
"Man-management is the most important thing. More important is to understand human behaviour, their instincts, mind-sets. How someone reacts to failure, how someone reacts to success, when to talk, whom to talk to and whom not to talk to.
"Virat wanted work ethic, fitness, high-fielding standards and trust within the system and also get rid of excuses.”
"When I walk into the team room and see the energy, I haven't seen such atmosphere where you have trust, you enjoy each other's company and performances," he said.
