Virat Kohli stepped down as India's T20 skipper after T20 World Cup 2021.
Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri backed Virat Kohli’s decision to step down as T20I captain, saying that batting greats from the past also did the same to focus on their batting.
Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri’s partnership brought great laurels to Indian cricket. Under their tenure, Team India became one of the fittest in the world and the fearless attitude, that they cretead within the group, helped the team reach new heights in world cricket.
While Shastri’s tenure as a head coach ended after India’s early exit from the T20 World Cup 2021, Virat Kohli’s stint as T20 captain also came to an end after he decided to step down as a captain from the shortest format of the game.
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In an interaction with The Week, Ravi Shastri lauded Virat Kohli as a tactically sound captain. He pointed out that people will judge by results and the runs scored but the way latter evolved and matured as a player he should be proud of what he has achieved.
"At the end of the day, he has been a tactically sound captain. Efficient. People will always judge you by results, or not by how you got the runs, but how many runs you scored. He has evolved well; he has matured as a player. It is not easy being captain of the Indian team. He should feel proud of what he has achieved," Ravi Shastri said.
Ravi Shastri backed Virat Kohli’s decision to step down as T20I captain and cited the example of Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, who did the same to prolong their career and focus on batting.
"One hundred per cent. It has happened to the best. I remember Sunny (Gavaskar) giving up [captaincy] to concentrate on his batting; Sachin Tendulkar did the same to prolong his career," he said.
Notably, Virat Kohli signed off as the second most successful Indian captain in the shortest format of the game with 30 wins from 50 games under his belt to go with a win percentage of 64.58.
(The Week inputs)