Ravi Shastri opens up on India’s white-ball captaincy row
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has said that the entire handling of the Virat Kohli ODI captaincy issue could have been better. Shastri stated that Kohli has expressed his part of the story loud and clear, and the onus to clarify things from here lies on BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, whose statements Kohli had contradicted during a virtual presser ahead of the team’s departure to South Africa.
Ganguly had told reporters earlier in December that Kohli refused to accept BCCI’s request to not step down as the T20I skipper. In stark contrast, the Indian skipper stated that he was never asked not to step down, instead his announcement was received very well by all office-bearers, who termed it a progressive step.
“Virat has given his side of the story; it needs the board president to give his side of the story. With good communication, the situation could have been handled better,” Shastri said in a conversation with Indian Express e.Adda.
Rohit Sharma should be the white-ball captain: Ravi Shastri
He, however, stood in favour of Rohit Sharma being named as the ODI captain. “Rohit Sharma is the T20 captain now. He should be the white-ball captain. Once Virat said he didn’t want to lead T20s, it opened for Rohit. He should be the white-ball captain.” Shastri said.
Although, he hailed Kohli as the best Test captain. “Virat without a shadow of doubt should be Test captain. Look at what he has done – no captain in the world leads with that kind of passion.” He went on to admit that he “see a lot of myself in Virat”.
“My relationship with Virat was fantastic, two like-minded people going about their job. I see a lot of myself in Virat, drive, hunger and self-confidence,” he said.
On being asked for his take on Sourav Ganguly, he said: “I see no residue. Just events and you react to those events. That aside, we are cricketers. Both of us know the game. That does not mean we will agree on anything. Interacted with Ganguly many times. With good communication, the Indian team situation can be handled better.”
The former coach also advocated for legalising betting in India as it would help the government generate revenue. “Legalise betting as it will generate revenue for the government,” he said.
