This former India coach told Sachin Tendulkar to ‘Shut Up’ and rest was...

Playing against Australia on their home turf has always been about courage and character: two traits Ravi Shastri knew well. The former India head coach, famous for his “play fire with fire” philosophy, revealed there was one rare moment when he chose composure over aggression, and it involved a young Sachin Tendulkar on his maiden tour Down Under.

Speaking ahead of the Ashes, Shastri recalled the 1992 Sydney Test where he and an 18-year-old Tendulkar shared a memorable partnership. “I had just reached my hundred, and Sachin had just walked in. The Waugh brothers started sledging him, ‘You little this, you little that,’” Shastri said at the Summer of Cricket Lunch hosted by Cricket ACT.

The young prodigy was ready to hit back in kind. “Sachin told me, ‘Wait till I get my hundred. I’ll give it back to them.’ But I told him, ‘You shut up. Let your bat do the talking. I’ll handle the rest.’”

Also Read: When Sachin Tendulkar played a masterstroke, this time in the...

The advice worked wonders. Tendulkar silenced the Aussies not with words but with his bat, scoring his first century in Australia. Shastri, meanwhile, turned his hundred into a double. Together, they powered India to a strong 483, a defining moment that announced Tendulkar’s arrival on the world stage.

After the match, the Australians showed true sportsmanship, walking into the Indian dressing room with beers in hand. “Play hard, be competitive, that’s what the game is about,” Shastri said.

That Sydney Test wasn’t just about runs; it was about respect, restraint, and the beginning of a legendary rivalry that would define cricket for decades to come.