Former head coach Ravi Shastri feels that India should have given the captaincy back to Virat Kohli in the postponed fifth and final Test between India and England last year at Edgbaston. Skipper Rohit Sharma was injured before the match and missed the one-off Test while KL Rahul was also unavailable for selection due to injury concerns as Jasprit Bumrah was chosen as the captain of the side for a crucial clash. The Asian Giants lost the Test match as England managed to draw the series 2-2.
Kohli relinquished Test captain after the South Africa tour last year, and he quit T20I leadership in 2021 post the T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, the BCCI decided to remove him as ODI captain after he quit the role in T20Is as the selectors wanted one skipper for white-ball formats.
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Shastri and Kohli took to the Indian Test team to big heights during their tenures as India’s head coach and captain.
The 60-year-old said if he was there as the head coach during the Edgbaston Test he would have definitely recommended Kohli’s name for the captain’s position as he was the one who guide them to 2-1 before the final Test was postponed due to COVID-19.
“Once Rohit was injured, I thought Virat would captain,” Shastri told ESPNcricinfo. “If I was still there – I’m sure Rahul [Dravid] might have done the same thing, I have not spoken to him – I would’ve recommended to the board that it’s only fair he leads because he was captain of the team that was leading 2-1 in the series and probably could have got the best [out of the team].”
Meanwhile, when asked about whether India should go back to Kohli as captain in case of any injury concern to Rohit in future for a crucial match like WTC Final, Shastri wants India to re assign the former skipper for the one-off match.
“If it’s for a major game like that, I want Rohit to be fit, he is the captain. But god forbid something happens under unforeseen circumstances, definitely I’ll look in that direction,” he added.
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Shastri further heaped praise on Kohli for his impressive performances in IPL this season which was not the case for him last year.
“He’s in a very good space, enjoying his cricket,” Shastri said. “That’s the feeling I got as opposed to the last year when we were sitting and discussing does he need a break, does he not need a break. He seemed to have the burden of the whole world on his shoulders. Now it’s refreshing. the enthusiasm, passionate energy and enjoyment have come back, which for me was the best thing to see. Runs you might or might not get but when you see someone, and the passion, enjoyment and drive is back again, it’s good,” he added.
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