Shastri likens Hazlewood to McGrath, says he'll serve Australia better than Boland in WTC Final
'It will be a very tough choice, but if Hazelwood is fit, then he gets the nod ahead of Boland,' Shastri said on The ICC Review.
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Hindustan Times
5 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
'Virat Kohli's retirement could've been handled better': Ravi Shastri emotional, blames BCCI for lack of communication
No one in Indian cricket has been more closely aligned with, or vocal in admiration of, Virat Kohli than Ravi Shastri. From watching his meteoric rise to guiding him through triumphs and turmoil, Shastri has witnessed Kohli's Test journey unfold from point-blank range. If there was one person who believed Kohli still had miles to go in the whites, it was the former India head coach. But on Wednesday, in an unusually emotional moment, Shastri let his guard down. Speaking on Sony Sports ahead of India's five-match Test series against England, the veteran couldn't hide the lump in his throat as he opened up about Kohli's sudden retirement from Test cricket. It wasn't a decision made overnight. Kohli had, in fact, confided in Shastri as early as April, as the latter earlier revealed on The ICC Review. Yet, now that the decision is final, it has left even someone as composed as Shastri visibly moved. Shastri felt that Kohli, who is often hailed as 'an ambassador for Test match cricket', deserved a better way to say farewell to the format been synonymous with, indicating that his retirement could have been handled better. "Virat has announced his retirement from Test matches, which is sad, you know, because he's a great player. A great player. It's only when you go that people truly realise how big a player you were. Stats don't do justice — it's about the way he carried himself, especially as an ambassador for Test match cricket, particularly overseas. The way he played at Lord's, and how his team turned things around — it was unreal. And I'm glad I was a part of it," Shastri said. "I feel sad that he's gone the way he has — suddenly. I think it could have been handled better, maybe with more communication." Shastri further said that the Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI selection committee missed the opportunity in naming Kohli as the Test captain again. "If I had anything to do with it, I would've made him captain straight after Australia," he added. The Delhi batter had stepped down from Test captaincy back in 2022, after the end of the tour of South Africa, after which Rohit Sharma was confirmed as the all-format skipper. In the wake of the series loss against New Zealand and Australia, reports had emerged that a senior player in the squad was keen to take up the leadership role. Although the name was never revealed, it was widely speculated to be Kohli. Shastri's words, though indirectly, hinted that it was Kohli who wanted to captain India again, but it was a negative from the BCCI. Eventually, Shubman Gill was named as the captain of the Indian Test team after Rohit had retired from the format just five days before Kohli's announcement.
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First Post
6 hours ago
- First Post
'I think it could have been handled better': Ravi Shastri finally breaks silence on Virat Kohli's retirement
Former India coach Ravi Shastri has expressed disappointment over the way Virat Kohli's Test retirement was handled. Shastri said that Kohli deserved to be reinstated as captain after the Australia series. read more Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has finally opened up about Virat Kohli's sudden retirement from Test cricket. Speaking in a video shared by Sony Sports Network, Shastri said he was disappointed with the way the whole situation was handled. Kohli announced his retirement from the longest format last month, just days before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) unveiled the squad for a five-match Test series against England. The news came as a shock to the cricket world. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Shastri breaks silence in Kohli's Test exit Former India coach and Kohli's good friend Ravi Shastri has now reacted to the entire saga, saying that if he had the power, he would have made him the captain after the Australia series, which India lost 2-1. 'When you go, that's when people realize how big a player he was. I feel sad that he is gone, the way he is gone. I think it could have been handled better, there should have been more communication. If I had anything to do with it, I would have made him captain, straightaway after Australia,' Shastri said. His comments came in a promotional video for a special TV show titled 'Bharat Tum Chale Chalo, Kahani 21-22 ki', which will air on 15 June. The show focuses on India's previous Test tour of England in 2022, sharing behind-the-scenes stories and inside moments from that exciting series. Kohli stepped down from Test captaincy in early 2022, after already giving up the T20I and ODI captaincy. Rohit Sharma became the captain of the Indian team across all formats after Kohli's resignation. Rohit helped India dominate the white-ball formats but couldn't achieve much success in red-ball cricket. Kohli and Rohit's retirement marks a new era India lost their first-ever home Test series to New Zealand late last year. After that, India failed to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia down under, resulting in their exit from the World Test Championship race. There were several changes expected in the Test team following the dismal Australia tour. However, fans never imagined that Kohli and Rohit would step down, ending their Test careers abruptly. Fans were expecting a farewell series for India stars, especially after they appeared for a domestic red-ball game as practice after many years following their defeat against Australia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India are slated to play a Test series against England, starting 20 June. A new-look team has travelled to England for the contest with Shubman Gill as captain and Rishabh Pant as his deputy. It will also mark the start of a new WTC cycle for India.
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
Ravi Shastri's unfiltered take on Virat Kohli's retirement from Test cricket: 'It could have been handled better'. Watch video
Former India coach Ravi Shastri became emotional on Wednesday as he spoke about Virat Kohli's retirement from Test cricket. Shastri, who worked closely with Kohli during a successful captaincy phase marked by several major series victories, said the star batter's exit could have been managed more thoughtfully. Kohli, who made his Test debut against the West Indies in 2011, announced his retirement from the longest format ahead of the England tour. He finishes with 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85 from 123 Tests, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties, making him India's fourth-highest run-scorer in the format. — SonySportsNetwk (@SonySportsNetwk) by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Join new Free to Play WWII MMO War Thunder War Thunder Play Now Shastri's take on Kohli's test retirement "Virat has announced his retirement from Test matches, which is sad, you know, because he's a great player. A great player. It's only when you go that people truly realise how big a player you were. Stats don't do justice — it's about the way he carried himself, especially as an ambassador for Test match cricket, particularly overseas. The way he played at Lord's, and how his team turned things around — it was unreal. And I'm glad I was a part of it," Shastri said. "I feel sad that he's gone the way he has — suddenly. I think it could have been handled better, maybe with more communication. If I had anything to do with it, I would've made him captain straight after Australia," he added. Live Events You Might Also Like: Virat Kohli retires from Test cricket, says "#269 signing off" 'Not an easy decision' While announcing his retirement last month, Kohli had said that the decision was not easy but it is right, adding that he has given everything he had in him to the longest format of the game. Kohli made his Test debut against the West Indies in 2011, eventually becoming the skipper three years later. He represented India in 123 Test matches, scoring 9,230 runs, including 30 centuries and 31 half centuries. He had an average of 46.9 in the red-ball format. The batting great has been India's most successful Test captain with 40 wins in 68 Tests that he led in. He led India to a historic Test series win in 2018-19 and drew a series in England in 2021-22. The Indian team remained unbeaten under his captaincy at home. His last Test was in Australia (Sydney), in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, earlier this year, a game that the hosts won by six wickets, ending the series 3-1 in their favour. In his 14-year Test career, Kohli went on to become the fourth-highest run-getter for India, behind Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar . However, the 36-year-old has lately struggled for consistency, especially in his last tour to Australia. He hit just century and scored 190 runs in nine innings in his final series.
