Virat Kohli was unbelievable: Ravi Shastri picks best-ever player he has coached

India Today

2 days ago

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has named legendary batter Virat Kohli as the finest player he has coached for the national side, praising his ability to "dominate, be the face, play hard, but play fair." Ravi Shastri, who shared a strong rapport with Kohli as a captain-coach duo from 2017 to 2021, lavished praise on the superstar in a video on Sky Sports' YouTube channel, describing some of his innings in Australia, South Africa, and England as "unreal."advertisement"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, were unreal," Shastri said. He added that Kohli was the player he identified as the "leader" of the side after MS Dhoni retired."Once I took over the job, and once Dhoni had finished, he did a magnificent job. I think his primary skills as a batsman, his ability to dominate, be in the face, play hard but play fair, and his desire to win and take the game forward, were exceptional," Shastri explained. Shastri's tenure as India's head coach was marked by memorable moments, even though it yielded no ICC trophies. During his tenure, India returned to the top of the Test rankings after a prolonged absence, led by a dominant home record.
He also guided a young Indian side to two historic series victories in Australia, a feat unprecedented in Indian cricket. Central to these successes was the fearless Virat Kohli, whose performances underpinned the team's achievements.Kohli took over the Test captaincy from Dhoni during the 2014 series and immediately made his mark with twin centuries on his Test captaincy debut in Adelaide. Over the next five years, he dominated red-ball cricket, scoring 4,492 runs at an astonishing average of 63.27, including 18 hundreds.Reflecting on that transition, Shastri said, "Working with him [Kohli] was great. He's the one man I identified who could lead the team. Once I took over the job and Dhoni was finished, he did a magnificent job. His primary skills as a batter were to dominate the bowling unit, be in the face, and play hard. He always wanted to win and take the game forward."Shastri admitted that Kohli stood out as the best player he had coached, even among stars such as Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah."I would say Kohli, the batsman in his prime, was unbelievable. 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 were unreal," he added.advertisementAsked about the era he would have loved to play in, Shastri said, "I would have loved to play against Ben Stokes; he's a world-class all-rounder. Alongside him, there are so many cricketers. You look at the Australian bowling unit-Cummins, Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon. I could have played alongside them as the left-arm spinner."On his regrets as head coach, Shastri said he had "no regrets whatsoever," though admitted the team was "a little unlucky.""We should have won an ICC trophy. At that time, we had the team to do it, but we still played some great cricket," he concluded.Under Kohli-Shastri, India reached the semi-finals of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup and finished runners-up in the ICC World Test Championship 2019-21, losing the final to New Zealand.Between 2016 and 2019, Virat scored 10,603 runs in 164 matches and 186 innings at an astonishing average of 71.16, including 36 centuries and 46 fifties, with a highest score of 254*. Under him, India became a formidable Test unit, strengthened by a brilliant fast-bowling line-up featuring Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, and Umesh Yadav.advertisementAs a Test batter from 2016 to 2019, Kohli amassed 4,208 runs in 43 Tests at an average of 66.79 and a strike rate of 61.88, with 16 centuries and 10 fifties around the globe, producing match-winning knocks in the toughest conditions.However, in the 2020s, while his white-ball game remained strong, Kohli's Test performances dipped. He retired from red-ball cricket in May ahead of the England tour, finishing with an average just above 30 and only three Test centuries since 2020.- EndsYou May Also Like