Virat Kohli's Backing Didn't Influence Ravi Shastri's Selection, Says Kapil Dev

Virat Kohli, while addressing the media ahead of India's tour of the West Indies, had said that he would like to see Ravi Shastri continue at the head coach. On Friday, Shastri was retained for the position and Cricket Advisory Committee(CAC) chief Kapil Dev cleared that Kohli's backing did not influence the decision. "The CAC (Cricket Advisory Committee) hasn't contacted me yet. If they want my opinion, I'll go and speak to them. With Ravi bhai, we share a great camaraderie, and will definitely be very happy if he continues. But I haven't been contacted so far," Kohli had said. Shastri was re-appointed for a two-year period by the CAC, a decision that was expected. His term will again be up for review after the 2021 T20 World Cup in India.

"If we take his (Kohli's) views we would have taken the entire team's views too. We haven't asked anyone. There was no scope for that," said Kapil Dev. 

Among all the candidates, Ravi Shastri's record was unmatched as the team reached the No.1 ranking in Test matches under his guidance and won a series in Australia for the first time in 71 years.

Since he came back in July 2017, replacing Anil Kumble, whose differences with Kohli came out in the open, Shastri's coaching record has been phenomenal.

India have won 13 out of 21 Tests, 43 out of 60 ODIs and 25 T20 Internationals out of 36 on his watch.

Going by what India's first World Cup-winning skipper said, Shastri's communication skills may have played a big part.

"All of them were excellent. Sometime I felt Shastri had more skills of communication, they may have felt differently but we didn't discuss about that, we have given the marks after listening to their presentations.

"We all three have learnt so much, knowing how much hard work they have put in their presentation," Kapil said.

Shastri pipped former India teammates Robin Singh and Lalchand Rajput along with former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson and Australian Tom Moody to the post. Former West Indies and Afghanistan coach Phil Simmons pulled out of the race, citing personal reasons.

Asked about the advantage Shastri had over others, Gaekwad said, "Basically, being the current coach, knowing the boys well, knowing the problems well in the team and what needs to be done.
"I think he is well-versed with the entire system. If somebody knows the system, knows the players well and can communicate well, I think he has the advantage."

(With PTI Inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Virat Kohli Ravi Shastri Kapil Dev Cricket