Virat Kohli's tenure as India captain and Ravi Shastri's role as coach mark a significant era in Indian cricket characterized by historic achievements
and a change in team culture.
Virat Kohli captained India in 68 Test matches from December 2014 to January 2022, becoming the most successful Indian Test captain with 40 wins and a win percentage of 58.82%. Notably, he led India to its first-ever Test series victories in Australia (2018-19 and 2020-21) and achieved 16 overseas Test wins, surpassing previous records by Indian captains.
Kohli's captaincy was marked by aggressive leadership, improved fitness standards, and relentless pursuit of victories both at home and abroad. As a batsman under captaincy, he scored over 5,700 Test runs at an average exceeding 55, including seven double centuries, the most by any Test captain. His tenure also included strong performances in ODIs and T20Is, maintaining high win rates across formats.
Ravi Shastri served as the head coach of India during much of Kohli's captaincy. Shastri is credited with cultivating a fearless and aggressive brand of cricket alongside Kohli. Shastri viewed Kohli as a transformative leader and worked to harness his abilities while encouraging a competitive mindset. Under Shastri's guidance, the team enjoyed dominance in home Tests and made significant breakthroughs abroad, especially the historic Australia series win.
And recently, the former India head coach heaped praises on Virat Kohli and revealed that he identified Kohli as the leader.
"It was great. He was the one man I identified who will lead the team. And I wanted him to do it. Once I took over the job and MS Dhoni had finished, and he did a magnificent job," Shastri said while speaking with Sky Sports.
Shastri also went on to hail Kohli for his batting skills, and credited the former India captain for playing some top-notch knocks during his prime.
"I think, first his skills as a batsman, his ability to dominate and be in the face, play hard but play fair, wanting to win and take the game forward. Kohli as a batsman in his pomp, was unbelievable. Because in those five years, India were no. 1 in red ball format, and some of the innings he played in Australia, England and South Africa across formats were unbelievable," Shastri added.
