Ravi Shastri’s tribute to Virat Kohli following his retirement saying he was in a different class compared to others
Ravi Shastri’s tribute was effusive in his praise for Virat Kohli.
Virat Kohli was praised by Ravi Shastri, who referred to him as the most significant cricket player of the previous ten years. Shastri, a long-time analyst in Indian cricket and a former captain and coach of India, praised Kohli as a modern-day great.
After the latter took charge of the Indian side during a Test series in Australia in 2014, Shastri and Kohli’s partnership was one of the best coach-captain combinations in Indian cricket. Prior to Shastri’s departure from the squad in 2021, it was among the most prosperous professional associations.
They were associated for two years, from July 2017 to 2021 and from 2014 to 2016. One of the highlights of their relationship was their run to the 2019 World Cup semifinals, where they had won the league stage. In 2018–19, they won the BGT series in Australia for the first time as an Asian team, and in 2020–21, they did so again when Kohli left early.
Additionally, India held the top spot in Test matches for three years in a row in 2017–2018–2019. Another notable event was India’s 5-1 victory in the ODI series in South Africa, which was their first bilateral series victory there following four previous unsuccessful attempts.
“He belonged to a different class of cricketers – He has been the most influential cricketer of the last decade,” Shastri told Cricbuzz on Monday (May 12), hours after Kohli announced retirement from Test cricket. Shastri was known as a friend, philosopher, guide and mentor of Kohli.
“There are many unforgettable memories, some which are immensely personal to me. He played a brand of cricket associated with no other Indian or captain. As I wrote in my social media post (on X, formerly Twitter), he is truly a modern-day giant,” Shastri said.
Shastri last coached India during the Twenty20 World Cup in UAE in 2021. It also happened to be Kohli’s last series as a limited-overs captain.