Virat and me are pretty aggressive in the way we think, says Ravi Shastri

Ever since Ravi Shastri took over the role as India’s head coach, India have grown leaps and bounds and their performances speak for themselves. A dominant force at home, India have chartered unprecedented territory with the sheer force of will-power and never-give-up attitude and that culminated with the first-ever Test series victory in Australia. Although Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli are at the receiving end of many criticisms, their role can never be overstated considering the enormity of the task. As the captain-coach duo got candid in an interview with TOI, they said their aggressive mindsets have a lot to do with the understanding. 

“The hallmark of any successful team, or a great team - and term this team with both those adjectives - is the relationship between the captain, coach and the support system working around it. It becomes extremely important, because when two individuals are on the same page - and luckily, Virat and me are pretty similar in the way we think, aggressive in the way we think - that's the time when you got to take your chances. That's precisely what we've tried to do over the last three-four years and the performances speak across all formats. It holds us in good stead for the World Cup too,” Shastri said.

On being asked to answer the same question, Kohli resorted, “It's gone into a sort of an auto-mode now and the reason is because of the work that's been put in over the last 15-odd months. Culture management has been the calling card and that's something the team management has been particularly convinced about... The guys have responded to it beautifully. It's a different picture that's been pasted outside. Within the team, we know the mindset we carry. We're going with a group of people and this is not about individuals. This is everybody's effort. The beauty is you know what you've done over a period of time. You know you're not going to do anything different but just that - go out there and give your best. ”

After enduring a few failures at the start of his career, Kohli made an incredible jump to perfection and brought about a wholesome change to his lifestyle. His food habit changed, his work ethic saw a sudden uprise and moreover, the mentality to give his best in every game saw him scoring as many as four centuries in one tour of Australia in 2014. Shastri believes that it was the major turning point in the current Indian skipper's career.

“Australia, four seasons ago. When he (Virat) got those four hundreds. You could see a sudden desire in him to strive for absolute perfection.g Without cutting any corners. The idea was simple, there was going to be no room for excuses, nothing at all. You could see him telling himself out there, "I want to be the best in the world. But for me to be the best in the world across all formats, I have to do this, no compromise. If it means I have to be the fittest, if I have to sacrifice certain things, I'll do it. That's how he set himself on the path. And over the course of time, I think that is exactly what rubbed off on the rest of the team,” Shastri added.

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