Most Influential Cricketer of the Decade: Shastri on Kohli’s Legacy

Tags: India,
Virat Kohli,
Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri

Printed on: Could 14, 2025

Virat Kohli’s retirement from Take a look at cricket has evoked an emotional outpouring from the cricketing fraternity, with tributes pouring in from legends and contemporaries alike. Among the many most heartfelt was former India coach and long-time mentor Ravi Shastri, who hailed Kohli because the “most influential cricketer of the final decade” and a “modern-day big.”

Chatting with Cricbuzz on Monday, simply hours after Kohli’s retirement announcement, Shastri mirrored on their outstanding journey collectively. “He belonged to a unique class of cricketers,” mentioned Shastri. “He has been essentially the most influential cricketer of the final decade — not simply in India, however throughout the cricketing world.”

Shastri and Kohli’s partnership is extensively thought of probably the most profitable coach-captain alliances in Indian cricket historical past. Their affiliation started in 2014 when Kohli took over the Take a look at captaincy mid-series in Australia, and it continued by means of two distinct phases — from 2014 to 2016, after which from 2017 till Shastri’s departure in 2021.

“There are a lot of unforgettable recollections — some immensely private. He performed a model of cricket related to no different Indian captain. As I wrote in my submit, he’s really a modern-day big,” Shastri added.

Below their mixed management, Indian cricket scaled unprecedented heights. India received back-to-back Border-Gavaskar Trophy sequence in Australia — in 2018–19 and once more in 2020–21, the latter with out Kohli for many of the sequence. India remained the No. 1 ranked Take a look at crew for six consecutive years (2016–2021), a feat that speaks volumes in regards to the consistency and dominance of Kohli’s management.

One in every of their main ODI highlights got here in 2018 when India clinched a historic 5-1 sequence win in South Africa — their first bilateral ODI sequence win within the nation, breaking a long-standing jinx.

Kohli and Shastri additionally guided India to the semi-finals of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, the place India topped the league stage with a dominant efficiency. Although the marketing campaign resulted in heartbreak, it was a testomony to the energy and imaginative and prescient of their management.

Shastri, identified to be greater than only a coach — sometimes called Kohli’s pal, thinker, and information — took to social media earlier with an emotional submit:

“Can’t consider you might be accomplished. You’re a modern-day GIANT and had been a improbable ambassador for Take a look at match cricket in each means you performed and captained. Thanks for the lasting recollections you’ve given to everybody, and to me particularly. It’s one thing I’ll cherish for all times. Go effectively, champ. God bless.”

Their last marketing campaign collectively was the ICC T20 World Cup within the UAE in 2021 — a match that additionally marked the top of Kohli’s tenure as India’s limited-overs captain.

In a becoming tribute, Shastri summed it up poignantly: “He’s one who belongs to all lessons of nice cricketers. Interval.”