Virat Kohli is the best player that former Indian cricket player and head coach Ravi Shastri has ever taught. The ‘unreal’ innings that Kohli played in the SENA nations while he was head coach was praised by Shastri. Shastri said that he had “no regrets whatsoever” when asked if he had any regrets about his time coaching India.
A notable home dominance in the red-ball format was a defining feature of the Shastri-Kohli period. Additionally, they had put up a strong fast-bowling arsenal that included Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah. One may argue that Kohli’s best years as a hitter and leader were 2016–19. Shastri, who was the full-time coach of the Indian cricket team from 2017 to 2021, disclosed the specific qualities of Kohli that made him a run-machine in his heyday.
“I would say Kohli, the batter 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. Once I took over the job, and once Dhoni had finished, he did a magnificent job. I think his primary skills as a batter, his ability to dominate, be in the face, play hard & but play fair, and his desire to win and take the game forward were exceptional,” Shastri said via Sky Sports.
The Indian team under Shastri reached very close in many instances but they could not win any ICC trophies despite a strong team. Men in Blue are bringing up the rear in the current cycle of the World Test Championship having lost to New Zealand by eight wickets and reaching the Cricket World Cup semi-final in 2019 (lost by 18 runs). They have also lost in the 2017 Champions trophy finals to Pakistan.
Virat Kohli scored a total of 10,603 runs in 164 international matches (186 innings) from 2016 to 2019. The New Delhi native’s batting average in international cricket during this time stayed at an incredible 71.16 across all formats.
