Ravi Shastri, former Indian cricketer and present head coach of Indian cricket team, hugely praised the Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli for his leadership. Shastri spoke out on that after securing a big ODI series victory on the South African soil by the 1-5 margin where the skipper Virat Kohli scored a record 558 runs with the average of 186.
Talking about Virat Kohli’s leading the side form the front, Shastri said in the post-match press conference of the 6th ODI at Centurion, “You spoke of intensity, where does the intensity come from? When you have a leader like that who leads by example, the other guys jolly well follow. Otherwise they know what to expect.”
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The former Indian all-rounder is feeling proud as a coach of this team while he also entirely credited the skipper Kohli for India’s outstanding performances on this tour. Shastri said, “That’s the beauty about this team on this trip where I feel proud as a coach about my boys is the intensity they showed. Even after being two-zip down in the Test series, for them to show that kind of character to come back and win that Test match in Johannesburg on a spiteful pitch. And to then take that momentum into the one-day series and show the consistency they’ve shown over the last two weeks is fabulous. Entire credit should go to the leader. Because he’s led from the front, first with his batting and then as I said with his intensity, which makes other people in the team also up the ante.”
Shastri also suggested that someone needs to buy the latest dictionary to describe the Indian captain. He said, “I have a tip for you. If I was in your position I know what I would be doing tomorrow. I would be going to the bookstore and buying the latest Oxford dictionary, just to improve my vocabulary. Huge (impact)! As a batsman? Fabulous – over 500 runs in 6 matches against a South African attack. Do I have to say anything more?”
Talking about the Indian wrist-spinner duo performances in the recently ended ODI series, where Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal took total 33 wickets, Shastri said that both had complemented each other beautifully. Shastri said, “I think even in my last stint, Virat and me have always discussed that we need wickets in the middle overs. You know we’ve got to somehow be able to attack and find ways of breaking partnerships and not allowing the game to drift. So that was the idea. And then identifying the right kind of people to do the job. Luckily for us, Kuldeep and Chahal have complemented each other beautifully. They bring great variety – it’s great for the viewer, it’s great for the spectator to see that kind of variety when they come to watch a cricket match. Not just batting or fielding, but some classic spin bowling.”
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Shastri also praised Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who had made his Test debut on this tour and impressed everyone with his bowling. Shastri said, “Bumrah is a world-class operator across all formats. And you know he’s just shown on this tour and how quickly he has matured. You can’t imagine the first Test in Cape Town was his debut. You have seen him here today and he has gone through the three Test matches, he has gone through the six One-Day Internationals and he’s not let up even once, which augurs well for us. But yes, we have to look after our fast bowlers and make sure they are well rested as well.”
Talking about the host South African side, Shastri doesn’t think that they are a weak side despite missing their senior players like Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kock etc. The 55-year old said, “One thing history tells me, I have been coming here since 1992, there is not one South African side in the world that anyone can say is a weak side. You just look at their bilateral record and they are one of the great sides in bilateral cricket. I have followed this game for a long time. I have been a broadcaster as well and covered a lot of South Africa games and I know how they play. So I would like my boys to enjoy every bit of this series win. Whatever the scoreline is they must enjoy because it doesn’t happen every day.”
Talking about India’s World Cup preparation, Shastri told the reporters, “It’s (In terms of World Cup preparation) Very good, because it is one step at a time. We have learnt some good habits on this trip. This is a young side and they have got a lot of tough tours coming up. I think they have conducted and handled themselves extremely well on this tour,”
