Ravi Shastri says Virat Kohli has the same mindset as Viv Richards

Ravi Shastri (left) and Virat Kohli (right) during a practice session in Australia

Former Team Director of the Indian cricket team, Ravi Shastri is back behind the microphone for the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League. In a recent interview with Wisden India, he talked about his time as the team director and about star Indian batsman Virat Kohli.

The 53-year-old cricketer was appointed as the team director by the BCCI for India’s tour of England in 2014. When asked about how he took up the challenge he said, “My personality is such that I take up challenges of that sort. I want to cut across barriers and come straight to the point, which is communication and trust. For me, that was the first nail I had to put in.”

He also talked about his thoughts on the Indian team at that time. He said, “I always believed they were a terrific side. They were low on confidence and they were probably not approaching the game in the right way, the way it should be played when you consider the talent they have.”

Shastri worked as the team director with head coach Duncan Fletcher. When asked about the adjustment in that situation he stated, “It was very clear who was in charge. And what was the road ahead. It wasn’t a case of three people giving their opinions. It was one guy saying after consulting with everybody that this is the way to go ahead.”

The Mumbai-born cricketer also praised India’s Test captain Virat Kohli for his positive thinking in the Adelaide Test in 2014. Shastri also complimented Virat’s innings in that particular match as the best fourth innings batting that he had ever seen.

He said, “It is the best fourth-innings batting I have ever seen in my years as a player, broadcaster, and team director. It was an unbelievable innings, just the tempo he went at was fabulous.”

Shastri also gave his view on Virat’s success in the longer format of the game by saying, “I think what sets him apart is intent. He doesn’t believe it is a fourth-day track. He believes there is equal opportunity to score runs then as he had on day one. He thinks in that fashion.”

When asked about any other batsman he saw with the same mindset like Kohli’s, Shastri promptly took the name of the West Indian legend Sir Viv Richards, “I saw that with Viv. I saw an innings he played against us when he made a brilliant hundred in the fourth innings to win the game.”