India's 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev praised the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri duo for their contribution to Indian cricket. While Kohli has stepped down as T20I captain, Shastri, who was appointed as head coach in 2017, completed his stint with the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2021.
India has a great record under the coaching stint of Shastri and they registered some memorable victories over the last few years. However, the Men in Blue couldn't secure a single ICC trophy.
But Kapil still feels the Indian cricket team put up a great show in the ICC tournaments, apart from the T20 World Cup 2021, which he found very disappointing.
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"I think both have done a super job. I understand that they could not win India a major trophy but if we look at the last five years, since Kohli took over, there has been nothing lack. The big thing lacking is an ICC trophy. Apart from that, India have won in Australia, England… wherever they have travelled, they have beaten the other team," Kapil said in an interview with Uncut.
"Reaching the World Cup knockouts is also a huge deal. I think after the 2007 World Cup in West Indies, this T20 World Cup is where it felt that India were disappointing. Had they reached the top 4 and then lost, it is understandable. But if you don't reach the top 4, there will be criticism."
The former India captain rated this team 90 out of 100 and said 10 percent marks was deducted due to their failure to win an ICC trophy. "If you look at it from a trophy point of view, that's a different thing altogether. But if you look at their cricket, the brand they have played in the last five years, I would give them 90 percent marks out of 100, and deduct 10 percent marks for not winning an ICC Trophy," added Kapil.
India lost the 2019 World Cup in the semi-final followed by a defeat in the ICC World Test Championship 2021 final, and then a Super 12 exit in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2021.
