Ravi Shastri pays final tribute to Virat Kohli, all but confirms retirement
Published - 14 Aug 2025, 04:00 PM | Updated - 14 Aug 2025, 05:17 PM
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Ravi Shastri has once again highlighted the greatness of Virat Kohli, praising not only his batting but also his captaincy that changed the face of Indian cricket. The Ravi Shastri-Virat Kohli era remains one of the most influential phases in Indian cricket history, where they took the team to new heights.
Kohli took over India’s Test captaincy in 2014-15 after MS Dhoni’s sudden retirement from the longest format of the game during the Australia tour. By 2017, the dashing right-handed batter had become India’s all-format captain, while Shastri took charge as head coach.
Ravi Shastri calls Virat Kohli the game-changer of Indian Cricket
Together, Kohli and Shastri built a team that dominated at home and played fearless cricket overseas, and achieved success. Under this coach-captain era, India reached the 2017 Champions Trophy final, the 2019 ODI World Cup semifinal, and the inaugural ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final in 2021. Under Kohli’s captaincy, India stayed No. 1 in Tests for five straight years.
With 40 Test wins from 68 matches, Kohli remains India’s most successful Test captain. However, after failing to take India to any ICC title, Kohli stepped away from captaincy in 2021-22 and then retired from T20I cricket in 2024 after winning the ICC T20 World Cup. Later in May 2025, he bid farewell to Test cricket and left behind a legacy of unmatched intensity and success.
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Virat Kohli did a magnificent job: Ravi Shastri
Praising Virat, Ravi Shastri said on Sky Sports, “It was great. He (Kohli) was the one man I identified who will lead the team, and I wanted him to lead the team. Once I took over the job and once Dhoni had finished, and he did a magnificent job.”
Shastri further noted, “First, his skills as a batter, his ability to dominate, to be in the face, to play hard but play fair, and to want to win and take the game forward. I would say Kohli, the batter in his pomp, was unbelievable because in those five years, when India was No. 1 in the red ball format, some of the innings he played in Australia, South Africa, England, and across formats were unreal.”
"He did a magnificent job" 🙌
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 14, 2025
Ravi Shastri on what it was like to be India coach whilst Virat Kohli was captain 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/b142Hmgg5i
Virat Kohli gears up for Australia ODIs
Well, Kohli may have stepped away from Tests and T20Is, but his passion for ODI cricket is still going strong. The star batter is now fully focused on ODIs and has already begun preparations for India’s next white-ball tour of Australia in October.
After the Bangladesh tour was postponed, Kohli wasted no time in sharpening his game. He was recently spotted training with the Gujarat Titans’ assistant coach Naeem Amin. However, Kohli’s long-term role in ODIs is a sensitive subject. By the time the 2027 ODI World Cup arrives, he will be 39, and questions about age and form are being closely monitored.
Despite this, the former Indian captain’s presence remains crucial for India due to his experience and consistency in the format. Notably, India’s tour of Australia is scheduled to begin from October 19 to 25, where Kohli would be eager to show why he’s still India’s ODI king.
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