Former Team India all-rounder and head coach Ravi Shastri has got his baby back after 25 years. The baby in this context is Audi 100 car which he won as the Player of the Series award in 1985 at the World Championship of Cricket. Raymond the textile brand that organised the Vintage car show restored the car and Shastri couldn’t be happier.
He wrote, “India’s @AudiIN—my baby after 25 years! Thrilled to drive it at the Raymond Auto Fest, thanks to @SinghaniaGautam’s incredible initiative to restore #India’s vintage gems.” Shastri was seen posing with the vintage Audi in the series of photos and signing it.
Ravi Shastri’s ‘precious’
The Audi 100 cost around $2100 back in 1985. The government of India led by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi waived the import duty on the car. In the World Championship of Cricket in Australia, Ravi Shastri scored 182 runs and scalped eight wickets in five matches to be called Champion of Champions.
However, Shastri did not have a driving license back then.
“I still get goosebumps when I think about the moment. I was being interviewed during the presentation ceremony when I suddenly heard a roar from the crowd and turned back to see that the entire team was sitting in my car. I stopped the interview in between and asked for the keys. I immediately took the wheel and saw that there was enough fuel for a small drive. I then took a victory lap with the entire team sitting in the car. It’s a memory that will stay with me forever,” Ravi Shastri said in an interview with ET Auto.
After driving the car for nearly 15 years on Sundays, the car had to be sent for refurbishing. The Audi 100 was then put up for a show at Raymond 100 Autofest car show in Thane, organised by Gautam Singhania and his Super Car Club Garage, commemorating the centenary of the Raymond group.
Gautam Singhania’s Super Car Club Garage (SCCG) has been responsible for the restoration of the cars. Singhania has run the garage as an enthusiast of luxury vehicles since 2020. The three-day Raymond 100 Autofest Car Show event in Thane saw over 500 luxury automobiles, including cars, motorcycles, and more, under one roof in what is being touted as the biggest auto show of its kind ever in India.
Shastri concluded the tweet stating, “Unbelievable how it still shines like it did 40 years ago when India won it.”
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