Ravi Shastri Recalls How Good Virat Kohli Was in his 5-Year Prime

Under Virat Kohli's leadership and with Ravi Shastri as coach, India's Test team won 25 of 43 matches, a win rate of 58.1 percent during that period.

Ravi Shastri Recalls How Good Virat Kohli Was in his 5-Year Prime

Ravi Shastri recaled Virat Kohli's best five years year with the Indian Test team. (via Cricbuzz)

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Ex-India coach Ravi Shastri, who remains one of Virat Kohli’s foremost admirers, lauded the 36-year-old’s batting and leadership abilities during their time together in the Indian cricket team. Shastri also highlighted the five years of Kohli’s captaincy as the best period for the team.

A few months ago, Virat Kohli made a surprising announcement, retiring from Test cricket and concluding a remarkable career. Kohli played 123 Tests, scoring 9,230 runs, including 30 centuries and 32 fifties. The 36-year-old’s departure however, followed a period of criticism about his form, during which his average had fallen from an initial high of 54.97 to a final average of 46.85.

Despite the recent decline, Kohli’s legacy remains secure, having dominated in the limited-overs formats. The Indian cricketing star has played over 300 ODIs, amassing an incredible 14,181 runs at an average of 57.88, which includes a record-breaking 51 centuries and 74 fifties. Additionally, he has scored 4,188 runs in the 125 T20I matches he has played for India, further solidifying his status as a modern-day great.

Beyond his personal achievements, what solidifies Kohli’s legacy is his outstanding record as captain of the Indian Test team from 2014 to 2022. During this glorious and impactful era, he led the team in 68 matches, securing 40 victories.

This impressive 58.82% win rate cemented his place as India’s most successful red-ball captain. He ranks fourth for the most Test wins as a captain, only behind legendary figures like Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, and Steve Waugh.

Ravi Shastri, who was India’s head coach from 2017 to 2021, in a recent conversation on Sky Sports, named Kohli the ‘best player’ he has ever coached. He recalled how he had identified Kohli as the right person to succeed MS Dhoni as captain, citing his competitiveness and unwavering commitment. Shastri added that the 36-year-old went on to perform a ‘magnificent’ job after assuming the leadership role.

Once I took over the job, and once MS Dhoni had finished, he [Virat Kohli] did a magnificent job. I think his primary skills as a batsman, his ability to dominate, and his desire to win, were exceptional.

Shastri also spoke about the five-year period from 2017 to 2021, noting that this was the time when Virat Kohli was in his absolute prime,. He highlighted Kohli’s exceptional batting skills and his ability to overpower opponents, further pointing to India’s rise to the number-one Test ranking and the team’s excellence across all formats during this time. Shastri specifically mentioned Kohli’s innings in Australia, England, and South Africa, calling them ‘unreal’.

I would say [Virat] Kohli, the batsman 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 across formats, were unreal.

Thereafter, the successful partnership between Virat Kohli as captain and Ravi Shastri as coach is widely considered the best in Indian cricket history. Together, they led the team through a highly successful and transformative period, guiding the Men in Blue to remarkable achievements.

Ravi Shastri Reveals His Biggest Regret from Time as India’s Head Coach

Former Indian all-rounder Ravi Shastri was the head coach of the team from 2017 to 2021, a period marked by considerable success for the Men in Blue. He however, most recently, opened up about his biggest disappointment, that he endured during his time as head coach.

Ravi Shastri regret
Ravi Shastri disclosed his biggest regret as India’s head coach. (via India Today)

The 63-year-old guided the team to historic Test series wins in Australia, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies. However, despite these accomplishments, Shastri revealed that his biggest regret was the team’s inability to win an ICC trophy. He noted that this failure was a major disappointment, especially after reaching the semi-final of the 2019 ODI World Cup, where India suffered a heartbreaking loss to New Zealand.

We should have won an ICC trophy. At that time, we had the team to do it, but we still played some great cricket.

Interestingly, Shastri does have an ICC ODI World Cup to his credit from his playing days. He was the youngest member of the legendary 1983 World Cup-winning squad under the captaincy of Kapil Dev, though he had a limited role in the team’s success at the time.