In his last year at the junior college, he was selected to represent the Bombay team in the Ranji Trophy.
At 17 years and 292 days, he was then the youngest cricketer to play for Bombay.

  
An Indian under–19 team was scheduled to tour Pakistan in 1980–81.
Shastri was included in the coaching camp at the last minute by the National Coach Hemu Adhikari.
Shastri captained one of the two teams in a trial game and was then asked to lead the Indian Under-19 team.
The tour, however, was cancelled.
The team later went to Sri Lanka, but the games were frequently interrupted by rain.

His only notable achievement in his first two Ranji seasons were bowling figures of 6-61, which he took against Delhi in the 1979–80 Ranji final that Bombay lost.
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.
Shastri arrived in Wellington the night before the first Test.
His first over in Test cricket was a maiden to the New Zealand captain Geoff Howarth.
In the second innings, he took 3 wickets in four balls, all to catches by Dilip Vengsarkar, to bring a quick close to the New Zealand innings.
In the third Test, his seven wickets won him the man of the match award, while his 15 wickets in the series were the highest for either side.

The Ranji final of 1984/85 turned out to be one of the finest matches in Indian domestic cricket history.
A sleepy Gavaskar won the toss and batted.
He could hardly close his eyes before Bombay was 3 down for 42.
Batting at No.5, he scored his 20th and last Ranji Trophy hundred and took Bombay to 333.
Shastri made 29 before he was bowled attempting to cut an arm–ball.
Delhi was in early trouble before they were rescued by Chetan Chauhan, batting with a fractured finger in his last first class match.
Ajay Sharma, in his first season, scored a hundred and took Delhi into the lead with nine wickets down.

The rules of the competition specified that in the event of a draw, the team with the first innings lead would be declared the winners.
With two days and 100 minutes left, Bombay went for quick runs.
A crowd of about 46,000 turned up for match on the fourth day and the organizers ran out of tickets.
Shastri top scored with 76 as Bombay set Delhi 300 to win in a day and ninety minutes.

Except for the odd delivery, the ball spun slowly and afforded enough time for the batsmen to play their strokes.
Early on the final day, Delhi reached 95 for no loss and then collapsed.
His first wicket was Chauhan who was declared out caught behind with the ball having spun across the face of the bat without apparently touching it.
The match changed dramatically and the batsmen lost their head.
Gursharan Singh was lbw playing no stroke, Kirti Azad played on, Surinder Khanna was stumped after a few slogs.
Shastri took 8 for 91; Bombay won by 90 runs.
In the 50th year of Ranji trophy, it was their 30th title.

After the tour of Australia in 1985–86, he also began to decline as a bowler.
Bombay lost to Haryana in the semifinal of the Ranji trophy but West Zone won the Duleep Trophy.
His major contribution was as a bowler in the semifinal against North Zone on a flat wicket at Trivandrum.
Like in the Ranji final, North looked the likely winner going into the last day, before he took 8 for 145.

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.
Shastri's only other score over fifty in the season was a particularly dull 125 against Pakistan in the Jaipur Test.
He did well enough to be the man of the one day series.
In the first one-day match against Pakistan he captained India for the first time, scoring 50 and taking three wickets.
He took four wickets at Calcutta and 69* at Hyderabad in two thrilling finishes.
Later at Nagpur with India facing a big target, he scored 52 in 40 balls.

In 1987, Glamorgan contracted Shastri to play for them.
He stayed with them until 1991, with a break in 1990 due to India's tour of England
In his last year at the junior college, he was selected to represent the Bombay team in the Ranji Trophy. At 17 years and 292 days, he was then the youngest cricketer to play for Bombay.
  
An Indian under–19 team was scheduled to tour Pakistan in 1980–81. Shastri was included in the coaching camp at the last minute by the National Coach Hemu Adhikari. Shastri captained one of the two teams in a trial game and was then asked to lead the Indian Under-19 team. The tour, however, was cancelled. The team later went to Sri Lanka, but the games were frequently interrupted by rain.
His only notable achievement in his first two Ranji seasons were bowling figures of 6-61, which he took against Delhi in the 1979–80 Ranji final that Bombay lost. 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. Shastri arrived in Wellington the night before the first Test. His first over in Test cricket was a maiden to the New Zealand captain Geoff Howarth. In the second innings, he took 3 wickets in four balls, all to catches by Dilip Vengsarkar, to bring a quick close to the New Zealand innings. In the third Test, his seven wickets won him the man of the match award, while his 15 wickets in the series were the highest for either side.
The Ranji final of 1984/85 turned out to be one of the finest matches in Indian domestic cricket history. A sleepy Gavaskar won the toss and batted. He could hardly close his eyes before Bombay was 3 down for 42. Batting at No.5, he scored his 20th and last Ranji Trophy hundred and took Bombay to 333. Shastri made 29 before he was bowled attempting to cut an arm–ball. Delhi was in early trouble before they were rescued by Chetan Chauhan, batting with a fractured finger in his last first class match. Ajay Sharma, in his first season, scored a hundred and took Delhi into the lead with nine wickets down.
The rules of the competition specified that in the event of a draw, the team with the first innings lead would be declared the winners. With two days and 100 minutes left, Bombay went for quick runs. A crowd of about 46,000 turned up for match on the fourth day and the organizers ran out of tickets. Shastri top scored with 76 as Bombay set Delhi 300 to win in a day and ninety minutes.
Except for the odd delivery, the ball spun slowly and afforded enough time for the batsmen to play their strokes. Early on the final day, Delhi reached 95 for no loss and then collapsed. His first wicket was Chauhan who was declared out caught behind with the ball having spun across the face of the bat without apparently touching it. The match changed dramatically and the batsmen lost their head. Gursharan Singh was lbw playing no stroke, Kirti Azad played on, Surinder Khanna was stumped after a few slogs. Shastri took 8 for 91; Bombay won by 90 runs. In the 50th year of Ranji trophy, it was their 30th title.
After the tour of Australia in 1985–86, he also began to decline as a bowler. Bombay lost to Haryana in the semifinal of the Ranji trophy but West Zone won the Duleep Trophy. His major contribution was as a bowler in the semifinal against North Zone on a flat wicket at Trivandrum. Like in the Ranji final, North looked the likely winner going into the last day, before he took 8 for 145.
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. Shastri's only other score over fifty in the season was a particularly dull 125 against Pakistan in the Jaipur Test. He did well enough to be the man of the one day series. In the first one-day match against Pakistan he captained India for the first time, scoring 50 and taking three wickets. He took four wickets at Calcutta and 69* at Hyderabad in two thrilling finishes. Later at Nagpur with India facing a big target, he scored 52 in 40 balls.
In 1987, Glamorgan contracted Shastri to play for them. He stayed with them until 1991, with a break in 1990 due to India's tour of England
Ravi Shastri