Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri while talking about his partnership with Virat Kohli also mentioned that despite having a horrendous tour of England in 2014, the Indian Test skipper showed signs of greatness.
There’s no doubt that Virat Kohli is one of the greatest batters the game of cricket has ever witnessed. However, during his early career, his inconsistency saw many fans and pundits criticize him.
During his first tour to England in 2014, which he calls the worst phase of his career, Virat Kohli scored just 135 runs at an average of 13.40 in five Tests and it almost seemed that it’d be very difficult for him to overcome his poor performance.
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He replied to all the critics in style as after that his career reached new heights and he led the Indian team to many historic victories in international cricket. The 33-year-old is still breaking numerous records along the way and is one of the leading batters in all three formats of the game and perhaps also the best Test captain India has ever produced.
Virat Kohli along with Ravi Shastri set new standards in Indian cricket and made the Indian side one of the most dominant sides in world cricket today. The duo insisted on a fearless attitude in the players that have helped the team reach new heights in world cricket.
While talking about his partnership with Virat Kohli, former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri said that they both have aggressive thinking. He said that they wanted to play to win and for that they realized that they need bowlers that can take 20 wickets.
He added that they knew that by playing aggressive cricket, they might lose games but once they crossed the line it was ‘infectious’.
"In the way of thinking, I think we are both pretty aggressive. We wanted to play to win, we realized very quickly that to win you need to take 20 wickets, so you go to start picking and identifying players who will help you do that. It might take time.
“By deciding to play aggressive and fearless cricket, it meant that at times you would lose games but once you got one across the line, it's infectious; I recognized that early," Ravi Shastri said on Star Sports.
While talking about Virat Kohli’s younger days in the Team India, Ravi Shastri revealed that he closely watched the Indian Test skipper during England tour in 2014.
He pointed out that even though Kohli had a poor outing in the series but he knew that the right-hander was the ‘uncut diamond’ and a future leader that will lead from the front.
"In fact, even during that England tour (in 2014), I used to do a lot of shows in England. I used to do 'The Verdict' with Bob Willis and Charles Colville, so I got a chance to see him closely. And I was seeing the way he was getting out.
“But I knew deep down that's the uncut diamond. He is the guy you've got to go after. The moment MS finishes, he is the guy to lead the side, and lead from the front where his personality should take over,” he said.
(Star Sports inputs)
