Coach Ravi Shastri calls it a sad day for him on resignation of Virat Kohli

Former India coach Ravi Shastri said that it is a sad day for him to see one of his favourite pupils, Virat Kohli step down as skipper of the Indian Test team. Shastri, whose tenure as coach of the Indian team ended with its dismal campaign in the T20 World Cup 2021, said that Kohli can go as his head held high as he has achieved what very few captains have in Test cricket.

“Virat, you can go with your head held high. Few have achieved what you have as captain. Definitely India's most aggressive and successful. Sad day for me personally as this is the team 🇮🇳 we built together - @imVkohli,” Shastri wrote in his tweet which he posted on social media along with a photo with the captain.

Shastri, who came to the Indian set up as Director of the team post the end of Duncan Fletcher’s tenure as head coach in 2104. But post the eight-month period, Anil Kumble took over. However, that did not go well and Shastri was reappointed as head coach post the 2017 Champions Trophy final loss to Pakistan. Since then remained coach for four long years and saw the main portion of Kohli’s captaincy.

Thus Shastri is someone who had probably the best seat in the house to judge and see the evolution of Kohli as a player as well as a captain.

Discover more

U19 World Cup | Indian colts defeat South Africa with a scintillating bowling performance

India began their U19 campaign with a win against South Africa in Providence Stadium, Guyana on Sunday, 16 January. The win came in a manner that would have made coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar proud given how highly he has rated this ‘Boys in Blue’ for their ability to play as a team. Defending a modest total of 233 runs, the bowlers, especially the spin duo of Vicky Ostwal and Nishant Sindhu put a choke on the Rainbow Nation forcing them into submission. South Africa were bundled out for 187 runs in 45.4 overs making sure that India started off with a big win of 45 runs. Having said that, the scoreboards could not quite reflect the drama of the match considering the position they were in till the 35th over. With seven wickets remaining and 135 runs scored, SA were well settled to possibly chase the score down after an incredible mid-block from the two Indian spinners. While Sindhu was not among the wickets, he conceded just 22 runs from his 10 overs, making sure that SA did not cut loose. He was aided by the exceptional lines and lengths from Ostwal, who not only kept it tight (28 runs off 10 overs) but also picked up wickets in the lower end of the innings to affect a collapse. South Africa lost their final six wickets within 50 runs and it all started with pacer Raj Angad Bawa removing the prized wicket of Dewald Brevis. Brevis, who was batting at 65 off 99 balls was key for SA in chasing the total down, but a diving catch from captain Yash Dhull at mid off made sure that India did not digress from their goal. From there, the scoreboard pressure brought wickets and India were safe by the 46th over. Bawa took four wickets while Ostwal completed a fifer in the first game of the tournament. Earlier in the day, the Indian batting faltered and they lost their primary attacker Harnoor Singh in the second over. From there, a rescue act from Yash Dhull with others made sure that India had something to give to their bowlers. While Yash Dhull scored 82 off 100 balls, lower order batsman Kaushal Tambe pitched in with a crucial 35 off 44 balls.

Super Smash 2021-22 | Match Review | Bowlers and de Grandhomme essay another Northern-esque win

It was another bowling special followed by a Colin de Grandhomme fiasco, that helped the Knight seal the deal against Wellington.

The Ashes | Game on at Hobart as Mark Wood rattles Australia to give England slightest of chances

Mark Wood and his short ball barrage worked wonders for England as they reduced the hosts 122/8 in 47 overs on Sunday, 16 January. The England pacers were at the top of their game rattling the Australians in the morning session of the play. Batting overnight from 37/3, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson did not take long to show their class. Wood was the chief architect on the day as his barrage of short balls got rid of the first three batsmen, Scott Boland, Travis Head and Steve Smith inside 30 runs. If England bowlers were a little more lucky on the day, they could have easily wrapped Australia up within 100-110 runs. It was not to be as DRS came to the rescue of the batters and on one particular incident, Chris Woakes bowled a no-ball while rattling the stumps of Alex Carey. The bowlers collectively did very well and on any given day Ollie Robinson would have been in the wickets as well for the sheer number of times he beat the outside edge of the Australian batters. England have a slight glimmer of hope to win the Test match if they can wrap Australia up below 150 runs. They have enough time to chase the runs down in a wicket that seems to reward shot-making. At the time of writing, Australia were 141/8 in 50 overs before dinner was taken.

Captain Oh! Captain | Twitter reacts to Kohli’s resignation as India Test skipper

Virat Kohli, the Indian Test skipper announced his resignation from the post on the evening of January 15, 2022. The decision was not received well by any of the fans or formers cricketers as everybody went into a lull, followed by a shock and all that came out on Twitter in the form of emotional tweets addressed to the most successful Test captain of Indian cricket in it’s more than 75-year-old history as an independent nation. We compiled some of the best tweets here. Twitter was full of other tweets blaming the BCCI leadership of President Sourav Ganguly and Secretary Jay Shah vehicle some others also blamed Kohli for making a rash decision. But we have mentioned only those which celebrated the legacy of the captain which actually made sure that it was India that was considered favourites when it toured in difficult overseas conditions like South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia, also known as SENA countries. Virat, who led the Indian team in a record 68 Tests, more than any other Indian captain, also has the best winning percentage among Indian Test skippers and third-best among all Test skippers in the world who have captained their sides in more than 50 Tests. Australia's Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting are the only two other captains with a win percentage of more than Kohli's 58.82. Kohli, 33, became the captain of the Indian Test team in 2014 after MS Dhoni en-tour Australia decided to step down from his role as India's Test captain after the loss in the first Test. Since then, the Delhi born led India in 68 Tests, winning 40 and losing 17 while 11 Tests ended in a draw.