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Virat Kohli’s captaincy has been a contentious topic in recent times. Kohli’s captaincy came under scrutiny after India team lost to New Zealand in the World Test Championship final followed by early exit in T20 World Cup 2021. Failure to win a single ICC tournament made the situation worse for current Test and ODI skipper Kohli.
Now, former India coach Ravi Shastri has come out and defended Kohli’s decision to step down as India’s T20I skipper. There were many who did not agree with the 33-year old’s decision to relinquish the T20I captaincy but Shastri believes that Kohli was right in taking the call.
“At the end of the day, he has been a tactically sound captain. Efficient. People will always judge you by results, or not by how you got the runs, but how many runs you scored. He has evolved well; he has matured as a player. It is not easy being captain of the Indian team. He should feel proud of what he has achieved," Shastri told The Week in an interview.
Gavaskar and Tendulkar did the same
Previously, great batsmen like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar also took the same decision in order to focus on their batting. Citing the examples of legendary batters, Shastri expressed his 100 per cent agreement with Kohli’s big decision.
“One hundred per cent. It has happened to the best. I remember Sunny (Gavaskar) giving up [captaincy] to concentrate on his batting; Sachin Tendulkar did the same to prolong his career," said Shastri.
Shastri’s decision during the England tour
The recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup turned out to be the last outing of coach Shastri’s four-year long stint as the coach of India team. The 59-year old Shastri revealed that the decision to step down was taken during the England tour in 2021.
“I decided in England that this was it. We had been on the road for two years. I needed to spend time with family. There is a time and place for everything. I had done my time. I gave it all, came [to the job] without any agenda," Shastri explained.
