Ravi Shastri enjoyed some fine success both as a cricket player and coach in his career, but what you might not know is that he is also a huge fan of F1.

Someone who has spent a great deal of time travelling the world during his involvement in cricket, Shastri knows all about the globe-trotting experience that the F1 circus has every year, and he reveals that that particular element of the sport made it so easy for him to follow when he was on tours with India.

Indeed, recently, GIVEMESPORT caught up with the cricketer-turned-broadcaster to discuss his love for the pinnacle of motorsport, how it all began for him, his favourite drivers, how he'd manage an inter-team battle between drivers, and F1's popularity in India, plus a great deal more besides.

Read on to see what he had to say...

Ravi, how and when did you first get into F1?

"I got into F1 in the early 80s, when I was playing county cricket in England. If you had a Sunday off, you know where you would be, at the pub for the Sunday roast, two o'clock in the afternoon, Formula One would start the voice of Murray Walker, and at that time, you had the big five. You had [Alain] Prost, [Nelson] Piquet, [Nigel] Mansell, [Niki] Lauda and my favourite Ayrton Senna. It was fabulous.

"You watched a lot of it at that time, because you travelled around the globe playing cricket, so in some way or the other it would coincide with Formula One and then of course, came the era of [Michael] Schumacher and then [Lewis] Hamilton and now you've got The Flying Dutchman [Max Verstappen.]"

What was it about Ayrton Senna that made him so special for you?

"His skill and his daring. F1 is entertaining enough with the pace at which the guys go, but he would take those chances.

"To watch Senna was not for someone with a faint heart. He would take his chances, he would go around the corners and take risks. But that's what made it exciting. People would come to watch him, he would make mistakes, but when he was hot was absolutely brilliant. So a real sad loss when he when he went."

And on a more contemporary footing, who do you keep an eye on from the current grid?

"I follow Hamilton because when you win for so long, especially with the way the sport has evolved, the way the cars have evolved, when you look at technology, his longevity is impressive. And I look at Max now, the car that he has is a beast and it's all been Red Bull, they've bulldozed their way through this season. I think it's one way traffic this year, not as exciting as one would want because you want competition but then, you know, he's just been too good.

"Charles Leclerc has got the talent but he needs the car. He needs the technology to take off because he's got the skill, he's got the flair. And he's got age on his side. So he seems pretty promising."

If you were to have one of the drivers in your cricket team, who would you like?

"Hamilton, with his big smile! I've met his father a couple of times and he follows cricket and he's a fun guy so I presume it's in the genes with Lewis! Senna would have been terrific, with the chances he took, he would have smacked it! He would have improvised like hell."

With your coaching hat on, what do you make of the team principals we have in F1 and how would you have dealt with inter-team rivalries?

"I think it's a tough job for those guys, it's like literally spying trying to find out what other teams are doing.

"And I'd have loved it! Because all you have to do then is work out [the drivers'] temperaments. You'd love that competition because no one's sitting on his laurels - which one is looking to raise the bar?

"And sometimes you get the best out of that individual. In many ways Prost and Senna would thank each other because of the way they went at each other, pushing each other to do better. So I think it's very healthy, and then it comes to man management for the boss, it's man management, and not letting the ego take over."

Finally Ravi, how big is F1 in India at the moment?

"I want it to come [back] to India. I know Indians love cars, they love fast cars, and especially the young generation, you know, even though it came only a few times to India, but I think India is a huge market.

"And with the number of people that we have, the viewership can go through the roof that with what Formula One brings to the table. I hope it comes, there's similarities with cricket in India, cricket is religion and passion. Everyone knows about it, everyone grows up on the streets, and it's pretty cheap and therein lies the little difference.

"To be able to become a Formula One driver, as opposed to holding a cricket bat or a ball or kicking a football is a lot harder. So it's challenging, but I think once it makes its presence in the country, I think you'll see it taking off.

"The number of people I know in India, the number of youngsters that watch, we are a country of only 1.4 billion! And 70%/80% are in their mid-20s and they watch Formula One."

The Indian Grand Prix was held at the start of the last decade, with three races taking place there between 2011 and 2013.

F1 in 2023, meanwhile, is in its summer break and will return at the end of August at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, before quickly being followed by the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

After that, the miles travelled start to rack up once more, with Singapore and Japan kicking off the final stretch of the campaign outside of Europe.

Fans in India can watch all of the action via F1 TV, which can be accessed via this link. F1 TV provides both live broadcasts of every grand prix weekend session and also other bespoke programming, bringing an in-depth level of coverage to the world's biggest motorsport.

For fans around the world, meanwhile, you can find out where you can watch every GP for the rest of this season via this link, depending on where you live.