As a cricketer, Shastri was essentially defensive with his trademark "chapathi"[1][2] (a flick off the pads), but he could raise his strike rate when required.

[5] In 2014, he became the director of Indian cricket team for a period of eight months from India's tour of England until the 2015 World Cup.

[6] On 16 August 2019, he was re-appointed as the head coach of the senior men's Indian team and remained in charge until the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup.

[7] Ravi Shastri is of Mangalorean descent,[8] was born in Bombay and studied at Don Bosco High School.

The next year, under Shastri's captaincy, Don Bosco won the Giles Shield in 1977, the first time in the history of that school.

While he was playing against Uttar Pradesh at Kanpur in the next season, he was called up to the squad touring New Zealand to stand in for the injured left arm spinner Dilip Doshi.

Delhi was in early trouble before they were rescued by Chetan Chauhan, batting with a fractured finger in his last first class match.

He scored hundreds in the quarterfinal and semifinal of the Duleep trophy, but West Zone lost to South on first innings lead in the latter match.

Bombay breezed through the West Zone league of the 1993–94 Ranji Trophy winning all four matches – a very rare feat[15] – by big margins.

Bombay defeated Haryana by an innings and 202 runs in the pre quarter final but ran into trouble against Karnataka in the next round.

In September 1994, while in Sri Lanka covering the Singer World Series, Shastri announced his retirement from first class cricket.

Within eighteen months of his Test debut, Shastri had moved up from tenth position in the batting order to being an opening batsman.

"His calm, sensible batting lower in the order", wrote Wisden, commenting on his first series,[16] "raised promise of his developing into a useful all-rounder, and his fielding too was an asset".

Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar was coming to the end of his career and Kapil Dev, who had led India in the previous season, was expected to succeed him.

His 123 ball, 113-minute 200* became the fastest double hundred in first class history, beating the previous record by 7 minutes, and included 13 fours and 13 sixes.

By the special order of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Indian customs waived the heavy duty its import would have normally entailed.

When Indian middle order collapsed and India fell behind the run rate, his two sixes in quick succession off off–spinner Greg Matthews came in handy.

The huge six off left arm fast bowler Bruce Reid – a cross batted heave that went over longon – was particularly memorable.

Shastri failed with the bat in the Reliance Cup but formed a successful bowling partnership with Maninder Singh, another left arm spinner.

[24] The bowlers were Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and Ian Bishop and the pitch, difficult.

Shastri's career generally remained a struggle until the England tour of 1990 where he scored two hundreds in the three Test rubber.

Next year in South Africa's first-ever ODI series on their return to international cricket, he scored 109 at Delhi, his fourth and last one day hundred.

Amidst frequent interruptions by rain, he completed his hundred early on the fourth day and a six off Warne brought up the 150.

In July 2017 Shastri, the former team director, was appointed as Head Coach for the national side by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), comprising Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman.

[30] As the World cup 2019 was in progress, on 13 June, the BCCI announced an extension of Shastri's contract by 45 days after the tournament.

[31] On 16 August 2019, he was re-appointed as the head coach of the senior men's Indian team, with his new contract extending up to the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup in India.

[32] Under the guidance of head coach Ravi Shastri, India achieved one of their most historic Test victories at the Gabba during the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Despite being plagued by injuries and fielding a relatively inexperienced side, Shastri’s leadership played a crucial role in fostering belief and resilience within the team.

His strategic approach, combined with his ability to motivate players, helped India chase down 328 runs on the final day, breaking Australia’s 32-year unbeaten streak at the Gabba.

[38][39] The 2021 Indian film 83, which is based on India's World Cup win, features Dhairya Karwa portraying Shastri's character.