Ravi Shastri speaks exclusively to The Indian Express:

‘Media and critics have put enough pressure on Virat

Kohli— Chup kar diya na sabko?’
indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/ravi-shastri-on-virat-kohli-ind-vs-pak-t20-world-cup-media-and-critics-
have-put-enough-pressure-on-virat-kohli-chup-kar-diya-na-sabko-8228477

October 25, 2022

I got emotional when it was all unfolding. I have seen what he has gone through in the last
couple of years- Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri spoke to Sriram Veera a day after the India-Pakistan World T20 game
at MCG where Kohli played his best-ever T20 knock. 

Perhaps, it’s best to start with a feeling that I didn’t have when I was watching the greatest
T20 knock by Virat: I wasn’t surprised. I was waiting for this to happen. I knew this would
happen in Australia. Just check his record here – the pitches suit him plus he loves
playing on these grounds and in front of the fans here. His record against Pakistan has
always been good and it was a big situation: cometh the hour, cometh the stage, cometh
the man.

I got emotional when it was all unfolding. I have seen what he has gone through in the last
couple of years. We all know the recent context. Did I have something to say to him at the
end? Frankly, not a thing. We are a country with short memories; topi masters of the
world! We flip, change in two minutes. Kohli knows what I feel. I know what he feels.
What’s there to be said? Not a thing.

There is also a neat touch of deja-vu. In 1985, at the World Championship of Cricket
tournament, our first game was against Pakistan at the MCG in Melbourne. We won. We
would beat them again in the final at the Big G. Now, if India Pakistan face off again in the
final, wouldn’t it be great? Is there an Audi going around in this tournament?

Cometh the hour, cometh the stage, cometh the man @imVkohli 🇮🇳@ICC @T20WorldCup
#INDvPAK #ViratKohli𓃵 pic.twitter.com/zdwgFUTQoI

— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) October 23, 2022

In all my years of playing and watching India vs Pakistan, those two sixes off Haris Rauf
are two of the greatest shots played by an Indian batsman. The only comparison is Sachin
Tendulkar’s six off Shoaib Akhtar in Centurion in 2003 World Cup. These are two of the
greatest cricketers of our time. Tendulkar’s knock had some of the magnificent shots
played in white-ball cricket against Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar. And
then this Kohli knock. These two are the biggest knocks I have seen where quality fast
bowling has been taken apart.

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To understand how Kohli did it, we have to rewind to that break he took. Not just the
captaincy blues and the surrounding mess, but for the last couple of years, the pandemic
had taken its toll on many players. All the blessings that cricket can afford – money,
security, modern-day perks – is one thing but to go through this insane period was
something else. Sportspeople were, in some ways, in crazier bubbles than most others.
The travel, being stuck in a room for hours, feeling lonely, and still having to perform –
only blokes who have been in that position can ever tell you its story. I happened to be one
of them.

I saw the effect of it on not just Virat Kohli but players around the globe. Ben Stokes is a
prime example, as he has himself shared. I respect him for what he did that time: take
ownership and talk about the mental blues. I had said at that time he could be the first of
many.

Virat Kohli shakes hands with Pakistan’s Mohammad Wasim following the T20 World
Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Oct. 23,
2022. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
And when I saw Kohli struggle in the IPL, I felt he needed a break. That’s why I strongly
felt he needed a break. I am a doctor’s son after all!

He had the opportunity for a month to see within and reflect. When he came back for the
Asia Cup, I wasn’t bothered about foot movement or any such. I was only looking for the
body language. I saw composure and calmness. I knew he was on the right track. Just as
he was in the game last night.

I would mention Hardik Pandya here, he helped Virat to stay on the right track. Virat
would later say that when he was on 11 from 21 balls, he thought he was “making a mess
of it”. Hardik Pandya played a massive role. Cricket is a very lonely game when you are
out in the middle, the only companion you have is your non-striker.

Hardik did a fabulous job. He reignited as a champion. In that cauldron of the match
situation, you need a person to tell you in your ears simple stuff. I know Hardik for a long
time; he won’t hold back. He will tell his partner what’s needed to be said. Same is true for
Virat. This is the beauty of these two cricketers whom I love.

And what a cauldron it was, what pressure. To win the match, they had to take down the
Pakistani pacers who are fast, furious, and very skilful. We saw that Hardik wasn’t able to
connect with his big hits. Kohli had to step up.

That’s the time the wrist helps. And more importantly, the Green Man doesn’t intrude in
your head to do something silly, stupid. It didn’t, and Kohli started to flow.

Only a fresh mind would have allowed him to do what he did in those final 5 overs. What
that month-long break did was to make him fresh again. Only a fresh clear mind would
have allowed him to play this gem – without any unnecessary things floating: just a clear
head.

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The one thing that was needed in his T20 game was to pace his innings better with strike
rate as per the modern-day demands. That format has evolved. Once he saw the need, put
his mind to it, he too evolved.

Ravi Shastri with Virat Kohli during his stint as Head Coach. (Source: File)
With Virat, my association started in 2014; it’s been 8 years now. I love the other young
cricketers too but with Virat, since he was the captain and I was the coach, it was
obviously a different relationship.

It was his character that stood out for me then. When I took over as coach, honestly,
chasing silverware wasn’t in my mind. It was to infuse steel. At the end of day, cricket
builds character. You will make mistakes on the way, you will learn on the way, you come
from different backgrounds, you are put into different difficult situations and it all comes
down to character. He has it.

I went in there, little knowing we will be No. 1 Test team in five years, little knowing we
won’t win an ICC tournament – – my job was to infuse steel. The rest will follow. It has.

I saw something similar to myself in Virat. To start from No. 10 and to open and do what I
did, I am proud of it. You need balls. Virat is a superior talent than me of course, but I
sensed a similarity of character. That drive. That steel.

I saw an uncut diamond. When I saw him going through stuff in the last year or so, deep
inside I wasn’t bothered as I knew he is too tough a character. I knew he would bounce
back; the only thing was he needed to be in that space to self-reflect. Here is where that
break helped. He is a wiser man now.

Without that temperament, he couldn’t have done what he did on Sunday night. It’s the
best ever T20 game I have ever seen. For the first time I felt a T20 game was like a classic
Test match. The ebbs, the flows, the pressure, the skill … it was a Test match of a T20. My
cricketing take away from the game would be those two sixes against rapid pace in that
situation. Unbelievable. Those will stay in my mind for a long time.

For him, this knock would have helped in rediscovery: of himself, his love for the game,
what he can do, and the road ahead. Clarity would be crystal clear; it’s usually a byproduct
of confidence. The rediscovery of things he would have fathomed during the break.

For the cricketing world, he was a superstar even before the knock; now let them decide
what he is to them. I am not going to put in words for them.

What’s next for Virat Kohli? I have no expectations, just let him enjoy his life. The media
and critics have put enough pressure on this uncut diamond and he showed who he is.
Chup kar diya na sabko?! (He has silenced everyone, right?!)

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