On Sony Sports Network, Ravi Shastri stated that people will now understand Kohli’s value after he retired from Test cricket.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has opined that the retirement of Virat Kohli could have been handled better. Shastri was the head coach during Kohli’s tenure as a captain, and the Indian team achieved unprecedented heights in the longest format, including big overseas victories.
On Sony Sports Network, he stated that people will now understand Kohli’s value after he retired from Test cricket. Shastri added that he would have made Virat Kohli the captain again after the poor Australia tour, where India were far from their best.
“It’s when you go, then, that’s when people will realise how big a player he was. I feel sad that he is gone, and the way he is gone. I think it could have been handled better. There should have been more communication. If I had anything to do with it, I would have made him captain straightaway after Australia.”
Earlier reports were suggesting that Kohli wanted to become India’s Test captain again, and Shastri’s statement proves that there might be some truth to those reports, even though nothing can be confirmed. Anyway, the team seems to have made the right call by appointing a new captain rather than taking a step behind for short-term gains.
Virat Kohli is among the finest Test batters in Indian cricket, and some of his knocks, especially overseas, were magnificent, given the arduous conditions they came in. However, his form in the last few years tapered off, and while he played a few crucial knocks here and there, he was far from his best.
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Since 2020, Kohli has had 2028 runs at a mediocre average of 30.72 in 69 outings, including nine fifties and three centuries. His final tour to Australia summed up his recent form, which might have resulted in an abrupt retirement from the format.
He could only score 190 runs at an average of 23.75 in nine innings, and his only substantial score came in the easiest conditions on the tour. He kept chasing outside off deliveries, which made him too vulnerable and easily exploitable for pacers and spinners equally.
His issues would have exacerbated with age and slowing reflexes, so Kohli might have decided not to continue in a format he cherished the most. For India, the task will be monumental to replace him at No.4, and whoever replaces him from the impending England tour will have big shoes to fill.
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