India, under Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli, was a force to be reckoned with in the red-ball format. Kohli led the side from the front as captain, and in their tenure, they have pulled off some remarkable results in the SENA countries, which have always been an Achilles heel for the Indian units in the past. Shastri, recalling his tenure, lauded Kohli the batter and captain.
“I would say Kohli, the batsman in his pomp, was unbelievable because in those five years when India were No. 1 in the red-ball format. Some of the innings he played in Australia, South Africa, England, across formats were unreal,” Shastri said speaking on Sky Sports.
“It was great. I mean, he was the one man I identified who would lead the team, and I wanted him to lead the team. Once I took over the job, and once Dhoni had finished, he did a magnificent job. I think his first skills as a batsman, his ability to dominate, be in the face, play hard but play fair, and wanting to win and take the game forward,” he added.
Regrets
Despite being the team to beat in red-ball format, the side did have its fair share of ups and downs in the ICC tournaments. “No regrets whatsoever. If anything, you could say we were a little unlucky. We should’ve won an ICC trophy. In that time, we had the team to do it, but we still played some great cricket,” said Shastri.
New era
In the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar trophy, India performed well without the likes of Rohit Sharma and Kohli, who have retired during the IPL. Shubman Gill led the young side from the front to a 2-2 draw, and the skipper himself churned out four tons during the series. “No question, Shubman Gill he’ll be around for a long, long time because we’ve seen what kind of series he’s had here. I think he’s only 25 years of age, and as you know, with this exposure, he’ll get even better,” Shastri said on Gill.
“He’s right up there. He’ll be up there. He’s composed. He’s very regal. He’s got that, you know, when you look at him, he’s something regal about him. The way he bats, he’s very easy on the eye, very fluent and has the ability to play the long innings,” he added.