Published: Dec 24, 2021, 07:24 AM (IST)
Edited: Dec 24, 2021, 07:24 AM (IST)
Centurion: Ex-India coach Ravi Shastri has finally broken his silence weeks after ending his tenure with the Indian team. Since the unceremonious axing of Virat Kohli as the ODI skipper, there have been questions about was it the right call. Shastri reckons, it is. The ex-India coach feels there should only be one white-ball captain and once Kohli stepped down as T20 captain – the writing was on the wall.
“You should have one captain for white-ball cricket. Rohit Sharma is the T20 captain, so he should be the white-ball captain as well,” Shastri said while speaking to The Indian Express.
Hailing Kohli as a Test skipper, Shastri highlighted India’s success as a team under his leadership in red-ball cricket. Calling Kohli an ambassador for Test cricket, Shastri felt he should continue as the captain in the longer format without a doubt.
“Virat, without a shadow of doubt. Look at what he has done. He has been an ambassador for Test cricket like no one else. If you go by results, who is close to him? I don’t see any captain in the world today who leads with that kind of passion. That is there for everyone to see,” he added.
“The fact that you are the top team in the world for the last five years, and you are even thinking of looking elsewhere, I mean we are greedy guys, man,” he added further.
Meanwhile, the Indian team is in South Africa for the Tests. The Indian team has never won a Test series on South African soil in their last seven attempts. Kohli has the responsibility of changing that. He would certainly be under pressure, thanks to the ODI captaincy row.
It would be interesting to see how he soaks up all the outside noise and still manages to deliver.
