Ex-India coach Ravi Shastri named former captain Virat Kohli as the finest player he has coached with the national team. Shastri praised Kohli for his consistent performances across all formats, particularly in challenging tours to Australia, South Africa, and England. He also highlighted the 36-year-old’s leadership, noting that India reached the No.1 spot in Test cricket.
On Thursday, August 14, Shastri shared his views during a Q&A on Sky Sports’ YouTube channel.
“I would say Kohli, the batsman in his pomp, was unbelievable because in those five years when India were No. 1 in the red-ball format. Some of the innings he played in Australia, South Africa, England, across formats was unreal.”
“It was great. I mean, he was the one man I identified who will lead the team, and I wanted him to lead the team. Once I took over the job, and once Dhoni had finished, he did a magnificent job. I think his first skills as a batsman, his ability to dominate, be in the face, play hard but play fair, and wanting to win and take the game forward,” he added.
Under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, India reached the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final, the 2021 World Test Championship final, and achieved a historic 2-1 Test series win in Australia. With 40 wins in 68 Tests, he became India’s most successful Test captain and recorded 135 wins in 213 matches across formats, second only to MS Dhoni.
Ravi Shastri Reflects on Coaching Career, Regrets Missing An ICC Trophy
Ravi Shastri added that his sole regret as Team India’s coach was not securing an ICC trophy. The 63-year-old went on to say:
“No regrets whatsoever. If anything, you could say we were a little unlucky. We should’ve won an ICC trophy. In that time, we had the team to do it, but we still played some great cricket.”
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