Former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels Virat Kohli’s match-winning innings against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup would have helped the Indian batter “rediscover” himself and his love for the game besides shutting the critics up.
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Kohli had struggled for runs earlier this year and also had a poor IPL 2022 season. The batter had come under a lot of criticism for his lack of runs and even legendary Kapil Dev suggested he should be dropped from the T20I side. After struggling with form, Kohli took a two-month break from the game and roared back in style in the 2022 Asia Cup where he scored two fifties and his maiden T20I ton against Afghanistan.
In the T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan, Kohli smashed 82 not out off 53 balls to help India win the high-octane clash after they were reduced to 31/4 in the early stages of the chase. With his explosive knock, Kohli once again showed that he remains the best ‘chase-master’ in the world of cricket.
Shastri, who shares a special bond with Kohli having worked with the former India captain for a long as the Team India coach, says Kohli was put under a lot of pressure by critics but he has silenced everyone.
“For him, this knock would have helped in rediscovery: of himself, his love for the game, what he can do, and the road ahead. Clarity would be crystal clear; it’s usually a byproduct of confidence. The rediscovery of things he would have fathomed during the break. For the cricketing world, he was a superstar even before the knock; now let them decide what he is to them. I am not going to put in words for them,” Shastri told Indian Express.
“What’s next for Virat Kohli? I have no expectations, just let him enjoy his life. The media and critics have put enough pressure on this uncut diamond, and he showed who he is. Chup kar diya na sabko?! (He has silenced everyone, right?!),” he added.
Shastri added that he knew Kohli would return to form in style because the Delhi cricketer is a “tough character”.
“I saw something similar to myself in Virat. To start from No. 10 and to open and do what I did, I am proud of it. You need balls. Virat is a superior talent than me of course, but I sensed a similarity of character. That drive. That steel. I saw an uncut diamond. When I saw him going through stuff in the last year or so, deep inside I wasn’t bothered as I knew he is too tough a character. I knew he would bounce back; the only thing was he needed to be in that space to self-reflect. Here is where that break helped. He is a wiser man now,” Shastri said.
The highlight of Kohli’s innings was the six he hit against Haris Rauf in the penultimate over of the match. The flat-batted six came when India need 28 off 8 balls. Kohli followed it up with another maximum.
This video on TikTok of Virat Kohli’s six back over Haris Rauf is incredible. #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/m9fOb9GVqG
— Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) October 24, 2022
“In all my years of playing and watching India vs Pakistan, those two sixes off Haris Rauf are two of the greatest shots played by an Indian batsman. The only comparison is Sachin Tendulkar’s six off Shoaib Akhtar in Centurion in 2003 World Cup. These are two of the greatest cricketers of our time. Tendulkar’s knock had some of the magnificent shots played in white-ball cricket against Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar. And then this Kohli knock. These two are the biggest knocks I have seen where quality fast bowling has been taken apart,” Shastri said.
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