Veteran Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has shared his thoughts on the remarkable career of legendary Indian batsman Virat Kohli, praising his achievements across all formats of cricket. Kohli is one of the few cricketers to have attained the number one rank in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is, consistently proving to be a match-winner for his team.
Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli have always shared a great camaraderie, with Shastri as the head coach during Kohli’s tenure as the Indian cricket team’s captain. Together, they helped India become a dominant force in Test cricket, winning several home and away series.
‘I think one of the greats of the game’ – Ravi Shastri on Virat Kohli
Speaking to ICC Review, Shastri emphasized the difficulty of comparing players from different eras but highlighted Virat Kohli’s unique ability to excel across all formats. “You cannot compare players of different eras. But if someone can stay on top of the sport for that long, this shows his versatility, his ability to adapt, and just shows his skill sets to do that. Not many can do that. But he has shown why he is different,” Shastri remarked.
Shastri further elaborated on Kohli’s status as one of the greatest cricketers of his generation, noting that while many modern players like Joe Root, Steve Smith, and Rohit Sharma have excelled in specific formats, Kohli has been at the top across all three formats for an extended period. “I think one of the greats of the game. I think he dominated that decade across formats of the game. When you look at one player who dominated all three formats of the game for a period of ten years, it had to be Virat Kohli. You would get Joe Root in one format, Steve Smith in one format, Rohit Sharma in one format. But this guy was in the top three across formats,” Shastri added.
Virat Kohli is the only cricketer to have won two Player of the Tournament awards in T20 World Cup history and also secured the Player of the Tournament award in the ODI World Cup 2023, further cementing his legacy as a versatile and dominant player in international cricket.
