Head coach of Team India, Ravi Shastri has expressed tremendous gratification at the way Virat Kohli has matured both on and off the field, critically singling out how the Indian captain’s development as a batsman and human being has had a positive impact on the team’s fortunes.
During an interview with a news18, Shastri boasted about his equation with Kohli and how their approach to winning cricket games allowed them to work in a good space, he said, “[The] equation is great. We are similar personalities. There is an element of trust in our relationship. We are both strong-minded, both play to win at all costs. We play to win. We don’t go there to do time-pass. This is not a team that is out there to fill the numbers. We want to compete. We want to take the game forward. He is pretty similar in his mindset when it comes to that and he is in-your-face kind of character. With Virat Kohli, what you see is what you get.”
India is currently the No 1 ranked team in the ICC Test rankings after a heavy home season, and the tour of Sri Lanka this year, but have never won a series in South Africa. Speaking of teh same, Shastri said, “I think the next 18 months will define this Indian cricket team – the tours of South Africa, England, and Australia. India has never won a series in South Africa. They have never won in Australia. This team has the opportunity and I believe have got the goods to compete really well in these two countries because you have got bench strength in your bowling attack, in your pace bowling attack, you have got an allrounder in the house in Hardik [Pandya] and what you need overseas is 20 wickets.”
He further added, “You can get any number of runs but if you don’t take 20 wickets, you can’t win. This team has that, so I think the boys know it and they are fully aware of what they are capable of. If they play potential, they will pull it off. I think our bowlers will do a pretty good job, [but] it will boil down to how our batsmen fare. If our batsmen stand up and put the runs on the board you could have a very competitive and entertaining series.”
The only concern for Team India in Test batting line-up is the performance of Ajinkya Rahane, who in the recent three-Test series against Sri Lanka managed a paltry 17 runs in five innings. Talking about him Shastri said, “At this level, I don’t believe there is coaching involved. It’s fine-tuning. Little things that you might pick up and you go and tell Ajinkya to work on that which we have already discussed and which he is already doing. It’s not that he is shattered mentally or things like that.”
The head coach also addressed the issue of playing with how many spinners in the squad, he said, “It’s very, very difficult. Two outstanding bowlers – No 1 and 2 in the world. They bring you variety. Once we go there we will see the conditions. We might still play two spinners and three fast bowlers. That’s what Hardik gives you. He gives you that kind of balance that is much needed. [We] might still go in with five which could include two spinners unless it’s a real green top, which is very likely then you go with a four and one combination. It will be tough one to choose between the two. That Virat can decide.”
Shastri acknowledged that there were times when Kohli and himself had different approaches to various situations but there was no disagreement between the two. He said, “It’s a dialogue. See, at the end of the day, the captain is the boss. He might ask me my suggestions. It doesn’t mean he has to agree with my suggestion. Because what I am looking for is for him to have his own mind and take the decision. We are there in the support staff to give suggestion which might help so there is a dialogue. I might believe in a certain combination.”
Talking about Virat’s maturity on and off the field, Shastri said, “I think he’s very good. You can see that maturity coming. He is still young. He is 29. He has seven-eight years still left in his career easily. I mean, he can captain the side for at least six-seven years from here. And you can see him evolving. There is an element of calmness that has come into his personality which is very good from the team point of view. Because as a captain, you want him to be in your face, you want him to be hard but at the same time he is captaining the Indian cricket team.”
When asked about what separates this current Indian squad from the previous ones, Shastri singled out an “abundance” of self-confidence. He said, “There is hunger, there is self-belief. It’s not that the other teams didn’t have it, but this team has it in abundance and they are not shy. They have got a captain who is not shy. They have got a team director who is not shy and that spreads like a disease within the team.”
He further elaborated, “They are hungry and they know for them to be rated they have to perform overseas. They have already tasted success. When you look at World Cups, they have always competed, they have lost to the winners in two semi-finals, they have won the Asia Cup. They know they are there and what’s good is that the nucleus of the players is pretty much the same from what it was in 2014 and the same bunch, I see them being together for another four to five years. That makes the biggest difference. They can achieve and go places in the next three or four years.”
India will play three Tests in South Africa – at Newlands, Centurion, and The Wanderers – followed by six ODIs and three Twenty20Is.
