Virat Kohli Wishes 'Mentor' Ravi Shastri On His Birthday

Team India skipper Virat Kohli took some time out of his busy World Cup schedule to wish head coach Ravi Shastri on his birthday. Shastri turned 57 on Monday, just three days before his first World Cup as coach, Shastri and Kohli have developed a strong partnership in the Indian team. The camaraderie between the two began when Shastri was appointed the team director in 2015.

Shastri became the coach after the 2017 Champions Trophy and has taken the Indian team to newer heights under his coaching. For the last 2 years, India have thoroughly dominated the other teams across formats. In 2018, India won the ODI and T20I series in South Africa, Nidahas Trophy, T20I series in England, Asia Cup before capping it off by winning the Test and the ODI series in Australia.

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Shastri and Kohli will now be looking to guide the team to success in the upcoming World Cup which starts on May 30. India will open their campaign on June 5 against South Africa.

“A friend, mentor and above all a fantastic human being.  Happy birthday Ravi Bhai. @RaviShastriOfc,” Virat Kohli wrote on Twitter.

A friend, mentor and above all a fantastic human being.
Happy birthday Ravi Bhai. @RaviShastriOfc

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 27, 2019

An illustrious career:

Shastri is one of the finest allrounders to have played for India. He played for India between 1981 and 1992 in both Tests and ODIs. He started his career as a left arm spin before becoming a batting all-rounder. In a career that spanned over a decade, Shastri scored 3,830 runs in Test matches and claimed 151 wickets.

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His major achievement as a player came when he helped Team India clinch Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket in 1985. Shastri finished with fifties in the last three matches of the tournament and forged a deadly partnership with Sivaramakrishnan. Both claimed 18 wickets between them in five matches. Shastri is also the first Indian batsmen to score six consecutive sixes in an over in first class cricket.