“India Won’t Wait For Players To Fail”: Ravi Shastri On Kohli And Rohit Ahead Of Australia ODIs

Former India coach Ravi Shastri has supported the move to name Shubman Gill as the ODI captain, even with seasoned players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma still active. Gill’s first leadership assignment will be the three-match ODI series in Australia, beginning in Perth on October 19. The 26-year-old started his international journey under Kohli and later emerged as a key player under Rohit.

While the veteran duo retired from T20Is and Tests last year, they remain available for the 50-over format. Speaking about Gill taking over the captaincy while Kohli and Rohit are still playing, Shastri shared his thoughts on the LisTNR Sport podcast:

“They are looking at the future and this is what Australia did really well in the past. They wouldn’t wait till a player starts failing. They’ll be proactive like you saw with Ian Healy and Adam Gilchrist, similarly Dean Jones to Steve Waugh. So India are looking ahead two years from now. Gill respects both Rohit and Virat, having played under both of them.”

Shastri also feels that the upcoming Australian tour will be the final one for Rohit and Virat.

“Unless there is a series scheduled in Australia before the 2027 World Cup, this will be their ( RoKo) last time in Australia. That’ll be their last tournament ( 2027 World Cup). They are giants and will want to go out on their terms. And they’ll not want to hang around. If they are not up to it in terms of hunger and fitness, they’ll go just like they left Test cricket and T20Is.”

“Even Star Players Need To Be Challenged Occasionally”: Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri acknowledged that he often had to challenge even India’s star players during his tenure as head coach, due to the country’s hero-worship culture and fitness concerns. The former all-rounder led the team to remarkable achievements, including back-to-back Test series victories in Australia in 2018/19 and 2020/21.

“You have to challenge even the star players occasionally. Because you have to pull through in one direction so that had to be set early. That it’s we and not I. In India, there’s a lot of hero worship. There’s a lot of individual records that count so we said, ‘To hell with all that’. It is what the team does and a team victory counts more than anything else. You might get five 100s in the series but if you lose or don’t compete in the series, it’s pointless,” said Shastri (via the aforementioned source).