‘I identified an uncut diamond in Virat Kohli’ – Former India Head Coach Ravi Shastri speaks about Virat Kohli’s leadership qualities in Test Cricket

The former head coach of the Indian cricket team, Ravi Shastri, recently reflected on his association with Virat Kohli. He also shed light on the early days when he foresaw Kohli’s potential as a leader. Shastri played a pivotal role in shaping India into a cricketing powerhouse during Kohli’s captaincy. He took over as the team’s director in 2014 and later became the head coach in 2017.

Recently, Shastri spoke highly of Kohli’s commitment to Test cricket, emphasising the batter’s passion, preparedness for challenges, and inclination towards playing tough cricket. Shastri revealed that even during the captaincy tenure of MS Dhoni, he had identified Kohli as an “uncut diamond.” He also said that he had conveyed to him early on that the captaincy would eventually be in his future.

He said, “There was a lot of individual brilliance, but I wanted to see team brilliance. I wanted to win and make Test cricket paramount, and I identified an uncut diamond in Virat Kohli. While (MS) Dhoni was my captain, my eye was on him (Kohli). I told him very early in my second month, ‘It’ll take time, but watch, observe, and be ready (for the captaincy)’.”

“He had no excuse attitude,” says Ravi Shastri

One of the key aspects Shastri appreciated about Kohli was his wholehearted engagement with Test cricket. According to Shastri, Kohli’s willingness to do the hard yards and play tough cricket aligned perfectly with his coaching philosophy.

The duo shared a common vision regarding the importance of having a potent pace attack, and Kohli’s readiness for a scrap and commitment to playing hard cricket in the nets played a crucial role in shaping India’s fast-bowling force.

He said, “Kohli was fully engaged with Test cricket. He was passionate. He was prepared to do the hard yards and was prepared to play tough cricket, which fitted my way of thinking. When you play Australia or Pakistan, you’ve got to have a ‘no complaints’, ‘no excuses’ attitude.”

“We were on the same page and wanted a battery of fast bowlers. He was ready for a scrap. He wanted to play hard. We made it a free-for-all in the nets. You were allowed to bounce the sh*t out of anyone. He was the first guy to embrace it; he was quite prepared to look ugly in the nets, and the mindset changed.”