Rahane highlighted the cultural shift under Kohli-Shastri regime.
Ajinkya Rahane reflected on a crucial era when Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri instilled a ruthless, win-at-all-costs attitude that redefined Indian cricket on the global stage.
Having recently announced his retirement from all formats of cricket, Rahane appeared on The Overlap's Stick to Cricket podcast, where he highlighted the cultural shift under Kohli-Shastri regime.
According to Rahane, the transition from MS Dhoni's calm methodology to Kohli’s aggressive style completely reshaped the team dynamics.
Kohli made elite physical fitness a mandatory baseline for selection. On the other hand, Shastri encouraged players to erase the fear of failure, transforming drawing mindsets into aggressive pursuits for victory.
The shift resulted in historic overseas breakthroughs, including India's first-ever Test series victory in Australia and dominant displays in England.
"When MS Dhoni stepped away from Test cricket, Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri toughened up Indian cricket, especially in overseas Tests. We became more aggressive, bolder, and always proactive rather than defensive," Rahane, who served Kohli as deputy at that time, quoted as saying.
"Virat always told me, 'If you feel like attacking from the very first ball, go for it. He gave players the confidence to play fearlessly," he added.
While Rahane praised the foundational shift under Kohli, his own leadership legacy stands out as one of the finest chapters of that fearless era. He famously took the reins during the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy to engineer an improbable comeback victory against Australia.
During the podcast, Ajinkya Rahane criticized the current state of Indian Test cricket and stressed the importance of character and mental toughness to excel in the longest format.
"Sitting at home because I last two years not been playing Test cricket, watching Indian Test team losing matches even in India as well, I felt Test cricket needs character. You need to build that character. Mental toughness, competitive cricket, that's what is really important. Playing sessions out," Rahane stated.
"Nowadays you don't see many teams, I don't want to pinpoint on anyone, you want to see people playing out those sessions, those tough sessions," he remarked.