• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Dhoni Was Captain But My Eye Was On Virat Shastri Recalls Captaincy Chat With Kohli In 2014

'Dhoni Was Captain, But My Eye Was On Virat' - Shastri Recalls Captaincy Chat With Kohli In 2014

image-lsh2u1ttDhoni, Kohli & Ravi Shastri (X.com)

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri revealed speaking to young Virat Kohli when he entered the set-up as director of cricket in September 2014 and telling the promising Indian batter to "be ready" for captaincy in the near future. 

Shastri, the former India left-arm spinner, said even though Kohli's predecessor and legend MS Dhoni was in his last leg as Test captain and player, his eyes were set on the new No.4 batter and his aggressive style of play as he envisioned in him the next leader to take Indian cricket forward.

Six months later, Dhoni retired from Tests, and Kohli was handed the captaincy on a full-time basis. From there began a fruitful partnership between Shastri and Kohli as together they helped transform India's fortunes at the Test level.


Shastri On Initial Captaincy Chatter With Kohli 

"While (MS) Dhoni was my captain, my eye was on him (Kohli). I told him very early in my second month: ‘It’ll take time but watch, observe, be ready (for the captaincy)’," Shastri told former England player Michael Atherton in an interview. 

Shastri said since Kohli was willing to keep Test cricket on a pedestal and give it utmost priority, they instantly connected with each other and wanted to elevate India's playing standards and fitness culture. 

Under Kohli's captaincy, the skipper appeared in excellent physical shape and inspired the rest of the group to follow suit. The skipper also committed to the five-bowler combination irrespective of the conditions and helped upscale India's fast-bowling standards, leading to wins home and away.

"Kohli was fully engaged with Test cricket. He was passionate. He was prepared to do the hard yards and was prepared to play tough cricket, which fitted my way of thinking. When you play Australia or Pakistan you’ve got to have a 'no complaints', 'no excuses' attitude," he added."He was always on the same page with the erstwhile skipper on creating a potent pace force. The rest was history as India won back-to-back Test series in Australia and drew five-Test series in England."

Kohli won 40 of the 68 Tests he captained India, including a remarkable maiden Test series win in Australia in the 2018-19 summer Down Under and Test wins in England, South Africa as well as complete dominance in India, Sri Lanka and West Indies.