Former India head coach Ravi Shastri reckoned that the pressure of leading the national team in all three formats at the age of 33 ruffled Virat Kohli. Prior to the T20 World Cup 2021, Kohli put forth his decision to step aside as the T20I skipper after which he was removed as the ODI captain […]
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri reckoned that the pressure of leading the national team in all three formats at the age of 33 ruffled Virat Kohli. Prior to the T20 World Cup 2021, Kohli put forth his decision to step aside as the T20I skipper after which he was removed as the ODI captain before the tour of South Africa.
Under Kohli, India also lost the three-match Test series 1-2 after initially taking a 1-0 lead following the win at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Hours after India lost the Cape Town by seven wickets, the Delhi-born Kohli stepped down as the Test skipper as well.
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Shastri, who served as India’s head coach from 2017 to 2021, hinted that external factors may also have played a part in Kohli’s resignation as captain. Shastri opined on the same during a conversation with former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar on the latter’s YouTube channel.
“See, one thing you must realise, an Indian captain is like a captain of the Brazilian football team as all eyes will be on you. And when a person does well over a span of time, as much as people love it, there are a lot of people, who hate it. The word ‘J’ comes out and people do get jealous,” Shastri said.
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“The pressure started building and people were looking for opportunities. I’ve seen greats of the game, who’ve quit captaincy to focus on their game whether it’s (Sunil) Gavaskar, (Sachin) Tendulkar, MS Dhoni.
“Virat realised that it was getting too much for him, captaining the team in all three formats during the Covid times. He couldn’t even go on a break. He did the right thing by quitting captaincy from white-ball cricket,” he stated.
Even as Shastri backed Virat for giving up ODI and T20I captaincy, the veteran was taken aback by his decision to step aside as the Test skipper.
“When it came to Test cricket, I was a little surprised. We are the No.1 Test team for the last five years and giving up captaincy just because of one series loss baffled me. But at the end of the day, I always respect a cricketer’s judgement,” Shastri added.
Kohli happens to be India’s most successful Test captain after he surpassed Dhoni’s tally during the 2019 tour of the West Indies. Under Kohli, India also played the final of the 2019-21 World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand back in June 2021.
