Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri perhaps were made for each other. Both had the same kind of temperament and demeanor, and together they made Team India a force to reckon with. It all began when Kohli had a fallout with former coach Anil Kumble during the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. Back then, reports started to emerge that Kumble was unhappy with Kohli’s decision of batting second against Pakistan at the ICC Champions Trophy final which India lost. But as Kohli-Kumble saga ended, a new partnership emerged with Kohli and Shastri combining together and leading India to Test wins in South Africa, Australia and England.
When asked about Kohli’s captaincy, former Pak spinner Danish Kaneria brought out an interesting angle, saying that the fall in Kohli’s captaincy might have got something to do with new coach Rahul Dravid.
“Virat kohli went very well with coach ravi shastri and he had a very good bonding with him. He(Shastri) used to back him. But now after the developments of Sourav Gangly who came in and then Rahul Dravid coming from NCA, he didn’t had a very good time,” he told News 18 Cricketnext in an exclusive.
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“Anil Kumble was one of the finest spinners of India and he performed at the highest levels, but he didn’t had good ties with Kohli.”
“Both Kumble and Dravid are from Bangalore, south of India, and both are like high-structured cricketers. They are like pretty big big guns and Rahul Dravid has done so well for Team India. He got under-19 cricketers winning tournaments for Team India, but he was not going that well with Virat Kohli because Virat Kohli is like—‘If I want to do it, I will do it.’”
He then went onto speak about the change in Team India captaincy with Rohit Sharma getting at the helm. He added that Sharma was calmer than Kohli.
“Rohit Sharma was a bit calm, winning five championships for Mumbai Indians.”
Although, he did say that he doesn’t think it was Virat Kohli’s captaincy that was primarily responsible for India losing out in the first round at the T20 World Cup 2021.
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