A couple of days after Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that he had felt “crushed” after former India head coach Ravi Shastri declared Kuldeep Yadav to be India’s premier spinner in overseas Test matches, Shastri has responded, defending his decision.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo days earlier, Ashwin had told the outlet that Shastri’s decision to heap praise on Yadav after the latter’s five-wicket haul in the Test against Australia at Sydney in 2019 had made him feel like he was being “thrown under the bus.” Ashwin, who was playing with injuries at the time, said he was in “excruciating pain” and that Shastri’s comments hurt him as he too had taken three wickets in each innings to lead India to victory in the first Test.

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“We all talk about how important it is to enjoy your team-mates’ success. And I was happy for Kuldeep…But if I have to come and partake in his happiness, and the success of the team, I must feel like I belong there. If I feel like I am being thrown under the bus, how am I supposed to get up and come for a party to enjoy the team’s or team-mate’s success?” asked Ashwin in his interview with ESPNcricinfo, adding, “In my mind, I had done something great for the team in excruciating pain, but all I heard was, ‘Nathan Lyon took six, Ashwin took three.’”

However, Shastri appears to be unmoved by Ashwin’s frank account of his side of the story. Speaking to the Indian Express on Friday, Shastri made it very clear that he did not regret what he said back then. In a stern rebuke, the former India head coach said, “Ashwin did not play the Test in Sydney and Kuldeep bowled well. So it’s fair I give Kuldeep a chance. If that hurt Ashwin, I am very happy. It made him do something different. My job is not to butter everyone’s toast. My job is to state facts without agenda.”

“If your coach challenges you, what will you do? Go home crying and say I won’t come back. I as a player would take it as a challenge, to prove the coach wrong,” added Shastri, emphasizing that his comments may have helped Ashwin regain his form.

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Shastri may well be right, given that the 35-year-old Ashwin is back in the India squad, preparing for the three-match Test series against South Africa that begins on Sunday, December 26. India will be looking to win their first Test series in South Africa, a feat that has evaded them for close to three decades.