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'He Was Prepared To Look Ugly' - Shastri Reveals Virat Kohli's Practices As Captain

image-lsfvssvdVirat Kohli had a successful run as India captain [X.com]

Ravi Shastri recalled his elongated coaching tenure with the Indian cricket team and highlighted the importance of a courageous and visionary leader in Virat Kohli for the group. The former India allrounder said he was fortunate to have Kohli, an "uncut diamond", at the helm of affairs during his term from 2014 to 2021.

Speaking in an interview with former England player Michael Atherton for Sky Cricket, Shastri said Kohli's team-first attitude aligned with his philosophy seamlessly and helped form plans while transforming the culture within the team. 

The ex-head coach gave the example of how during his regime, he and Kohli gave the bowlers absolute freedom to bowl at full steam and even bounce players out during the net sessions, revealing how the captain was the first to embrace the challenge and never shirked his responsibilities. 


Shastri Recalls Kohli Influence During Coaching Tenure 

"I wanted to win and to make Test cricket paramount and identified an uncut diamond in Virat Kohli," said Shastri, who was asked to initially join the Indian team as a director of cricket in September 2014 before rejoining in early 2017 as a full-time coach. 

"We made it a free-for-all in the nets. You were allowed to bounce the shit out of anyone. He was the first guy to embrace it; he was quite prepared to look ugly in the nets and the mindset changed," he added. 

During their seven-year run as the coach and captain duo, Shastri and Kohli kept Test cricket at a priority and transformed India's fortunes in the long-form game by driving home the need for a fitness culture and encouraging bowlers, especially pacers, to focus on taking 20 wickets. 

Kohli led the team from the front by not just scoring a truckload of runs but also appearing as the most physically fit individual of the lot and inspired the rest of the camp to follow suit. He also kept an open mind about India playing in five-bowler combinations irrespective of the conditions and shepherded India's finest pace attack in history.