Ravi Shastri Defends Virat Kohli's Poor IPL Record As Captain

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has had a good run as the captain of Indian cricket team across formats till now. Under him, India became the first-ever Asian nation to defeat Australia in a Test series at their home. For the first time in seventy years, India defeated Australia in a Test series in Australia.

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The results weren’t in favour of India on Test tours of England and South Africa in 2018 but the team did put up a great fight, preparing well for the future tours. In ODIs, India reached the final of ICC Champions Trophy and Men in Blue current it at to position in ODI rankings.

Despite having achieved so many accolades at the international level, one of the things that is missing from Kohl’s cabinet is an IPL trophy. He has been leading RCB right since 2013 – even before he led India – but he hasn’t won even a single trophy in seven years as captain.

Voices have been raised to remove him as the captain of RCB, with former cricketer Gautam Gambhir also asking for a change in captaincy. This year as well, RCB failed to qualify for the second round.

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The team did bounce back in the second phase of the league but six straight defeats at the start of the season proved to be heavy. While the majority of people believe that there should be a change in captaincy, India’s head coach Ravi Shastri has defended Kohli’s poor IPL record.

“Difference between a domestic league and international contests. You know when you talk of Test cricket, that’s the ultimate format of the game and if you see the way he has evolved in the last 5 years, across all formats. You know there is still room for improvement. He knows that he’s only 30. He’s got another, barring any injury, I would say 7-8 years easy. So, you are bound to mature, he is bound to evolve even further and bound to get better but you can’t take away what he has done. So, when you just look at the stats out there, against who, against were, against which teams… I don’t have to add anything to that,” he told news 18.

Kohli may have had a poor record in IPL but Rohit Sharma, his deputy in the limited-overs format, is the most successful IPL captain with four IPL trophies. Mumbai Indians’ latest IPL triumph came this year when they defeated Chennai Super Kings in the final.

Kohli’s next challenge will now come next month in World Cup 2019. This will be the first time when he will be leading India at the grandest event. India are one of the strongest contenders to win the trophy this year.