The duo formed a close relationship during their time with the Indian cricket team.
Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri share an excellent relationship as the captain and the coach of the Indian cricket team. Both come across as aggressive and outspoken personalities, which has helped at efficient decision-making in team management.
Ahead of the World Cup in the UK, the two talked about their time together in the dressing room, amongst other things in an interview with cricbuzz.com. While Kohli stated that the presence of a forthright authoritative figure in the dressing room makes it easy to understand roles, Shastri acknowledged the similarities between him and the Indian captain.
“Yes, the hallmark of any successful team, or a great team - and term this team with both those adjectives - is the relationship between the captain, coach and the support system working around it,” said Ravi Shastri.
“It becomes extremely important, because when two individuals are on the same page - and luckily, Virat and me are pretty similar in the way we think, aggressive in the way we think - that's the time when you got to take your chances. That's precisely what we've tried to do over the last three-four years and the performances speak across all formats. It holds us in good stead for the World Cup too.”
Virat Kohli will lead the team for the first time in a World Cup. He earlier captained the side in the Champions Trophy in 2017, which was his first ICC tournament as skipper.
“The beauty is you know what you've done over a period of time,” Virat said about his relationship with Shastri. “You know you're not going to do anything different but just that - go out there and give your best.”
India will begin its World Cup campaign on June 5 when the side takes on South Africa.
