Virat Kohli could have easily continued for next two years as captain, feels Ravi Shastri
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has opined that Virat Kohli could have captained the Indian Test team for another two years as he stepped down from the post after a 1-2 defeat against South Africa. Shastri also added that Rohit Sharma should captain the team in the longest format of the sport.
India recently lost a three match Test series against South Africa by 1-2 under the leadership of Virat Kohli and he stepped down from the post after the series. With resigning from the captaincy of Tests, Kohli wouldn’t captain India in any format. Reflecting on decision of Kohli to step down from Test captaincy, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has opined that he could have easily continued for another two years as captain.Â
“I felt that he could easily continue for next two years, but now as he has stepped down, we should all respect his decision,” Shastri told The Indian Express on the sidelines of the Legends League Cricket in Oman.
Shastri’s tenure as the head coach of the Indian team came to an end after the conclusion of T20 World Cup 2021 and Rahul Dravid was handed the responsibility. Indian Test team performed very well under the duo of Kohli and Shastri. The team won Test series in Australia twice and also were leading the England by 2-1 before the last match of the series was postponed later this year. Shastri said that the future of the Indian team is very bright and he named Rohit Sharma to be the next Test captain for India.Â
“First thing, the future of the team is very bright. From what I have seen in seven years, the new talent that is coming in is amazing. As far as the captain is concerned, Rohit is the captain in two formats. He was appointed vice-captain of the Test team that went to South Africa, but he couldn’t go due to injury. This means that he must be being thought of as the captain,” he stated.
Shastri is not in favour of appointing a vice-captain of the team. He said that the player whose place in the team is certain should be appointed as vice-captain.
 “Why make a vice captain? Whose place in the team is certain and is better on that day, make him the vice-captain. What is the use of making a vice-captain who has to be dropped from the playing 11?," he opined.Â
Shastri praised Rishabh Pant and said that he can be appointed as the vice captain of the team.Â
“As far as Pant is concerned, he is an amazing player. He listens too. It’s not that he doesn’t listen. He has a lot of talent and will go on. He is a better alternative than having a designated vice-captain,” he explained.
Kohli has been unable to win an ICC Trophy under his captaincy. He is often criticized for not winning any ICC event. Shastri opined that a captain should not be judged only on World Cup wins.Â
“How many top players do we have who have never even touched the World Cup? Who is the captain who has won the World Cup? Only Kapil Dev and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in India. Should we not talk about any other captain? I can speak because I have grabbed the World Cup trophy. In our country, even if you won the World Cup and lost the Test series, people would still go after the team. We all have this habit. For seven years, it was our endeavour to win as much as we can,” he concluded. .