Ravi Shastri confirms Virat Kohli wished to get back as India Test captain

Ravi Shastri spoke about how Kohli wanted to be India’s stop-gap Test captain before announcing his retirement.

Reports were floating on the internet and media sites about Virat Kohli wanting to get back as India Test captain before announcing his retirement. This has now been confirmed by Ravi Shastri, who stated that if it were in his hands, he would have definitely given Kohli the opportunity to lead Team India in red-ball cricket.

Ravi Shastri confirms Virat Kohli wanted to get back as India Test captain.

In a video shared by SonyLiv on social media, Ravi Shastri said, “If I had anything to do with it, I would have made him captain straightaway after Australia.” He added, “Virat has announced his retirement from Test matches, which is sad, you know, because he’s a great player. A great player. It’s only when you go that people truly realize how big a player you were. Stats don’t do justice — it’s about the way he carried himself, especially as an ambassador for Test match cricket, particularly overseas. The way he played at Lord’s and how his team turned things around — it was unreal. And I’m glad I was a part of it.”

“I think it could have been handled better.”

In the video, Ravi Shastri concluded, “I feel sad that he’s gone the way he has — suddenly. I think it could have been handled better, maybe with more communication.” Virat Kohli decided to retire from his Test cricket career last month, finishing with 123 matches and 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries.

Kohli’s decision came days before the Indian squad for the 5-Test series against England was to be announced.