We Have Dominated Test Cricket For The Last Five Years: Ravi Shastri

Former Indian player Ravi Shastri said that Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli worships the traditional format more than anything.

Shastri’s tenure as India head coach completed at the end of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, where India finished third in Group 2.

99 per cent of team members would say they love Test match cricket: Ravi Shastri

Shastri and Kohli’s partnership was very famous in the public eye for the respect they had for each other and the camaraderie they displayed in their professional stint.

Shastri said that the Indian team takes Test cricket very seriously and also mentioned what it means to Kohli.

“I think if any team has been an ambassador for Test matches over the last five years, it is this Indian cricket team. Virat worships Test match cricket, as do most of the team, which might surprise the world because of the amount of one-day cricket India plays, then IPL.

“If you ask anyone in the team, 99 per cent of them would say they love Test match cricket. That’s why, what India have done in the last five years – remain as the No. 1 team in the world at the end of every year,” Shastri told renowned author Jeffrey Archer on his podcast.

We have dominated Test cricket for the last five years: Ravi Shastri

Shastri might not have achieved an ICC trophy under his tenure, but definitely, he has revamped India’s Test structure, especially in overseas tours.

Under him, for the first time, India won a Test series in Down Under in 2018/19 and retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy in 2020/21.

India are very close to winning their first Test series in England since 2007 as they lead the five-match Test series 2-1 and will play the uncompleted fifth Test next year.

Shastri said that a current lot of players will leave a legacy behind for the next generation to follow their style of playing Test cricket.

“We may have lost the one-off WTC final against New Zealand – but otherwise we have dominated the format for the last five years. To win two series in Australia, to win the series that was taking place in England, to win everywhere around the world – white-ball and red-ball cricket, and to set a benchmark in red-ball cricket, the fast bowlers coming to the fore – unheard of from the Indian cricket team – it was remarkable,” Shastri said.

“For me the greatest legacy this generation and this lot of players will leave is the way they have played Test cricket and embraced it,” he added.

Former Indian captain Rahul Dravid took over as the new head coach of the Indian team and won both the Test and T20I series against New Zealand in his first assignment.

Also Read: Will Continue To Back India Till I’m Able To Watch The Sport – Ravi Shastri