Virat Kohli could have continued with Test captaincy for another two years – Ravi Shastri

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has opined that Virat Kohli could have continued as a Test captain for another two years.

Kohli recently send shocking waves to the cricket world as he decided to relinquish his Test captaincy duties after India lost the three-match Test series against South Africa by 2-1.

Kohli led from the front in the red-ball version of the game and had an impeccable record as a leader. The Indian team won 40 Test matches, lost 17, and drew 11 games under the leadership of Virat Kohli and thus he has the best Test record for any Indian skipper.

Kohli took India to the maiden Test series triumph in Australia as his team won by 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar series in 2018-19. Furthermore, India dominated the Test format under Kohli’s reign and became a force to reckon with in all the conditions. Moreover, India finished at the number one position in the Test rankings for five consecutive years.

However, as India will be hosting Sri Lanka for two-match Test series and there aren’t many big overseas tours coming in the next two years, Shastri feels Kohli did well to give up Test captaincy and we should respect his decision.

“Whether Virat could have continued to lead India in Tests. For sure, he could have led India for at least 2 years because next two years India would be playing at home and who is coming over – 9 and 10 jacks, going by the rankings. But he would have then made it to 50-60 wins under his captaincy and a lot of people will not be able to digest that fact,” said Shastri in a chat with India Today.

“Two years, he could have carried on but we should respect his decision. In any other country, this kind of record is incredible. You won against Australia, England and lost 1-2 to South Africa but still, there are debates if he should be the captain or not,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Shastri-Kohli partnership ended after India was knocked out of the 2021 T20 World Cup in the early stage. Shastri had a successful stint as a head coach and took Indian cricket to new heights under his regime.

On the other hand, former Indian all-rounder feels Kohli wants to focus on his batting and thus decided to leave the leadership role.

“Virat Kohli led India in 5-6 years in Tests and out of those, five years India was no. 1. No Indian captain has this kind of record and there are only a handful of captains over the world with this kind of record. So when the most successful captain decides to step down as captain it’s an individual’s decision because his record of 40 wins is unprecedented.”

“So he only knows how much is he enjoying captaincy. When Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni were not enjoying captaincy, they left. Similarly, when Virat thought that he had won 40 matches, six years he had been leading and now he wants to enjoy his cricket. He wants to focus on his batting and release a bit of pressure and it happens with a lot of individuals.”