Virat Kohli is the boss of the Indian cricket team and holds an integral part in their current success, Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has said.
Shastri, who became the head coach of India in 2017 thinks that his role is only to take the burden off from Kohli.
“The captain is the boss, I always believe that the coaching staff role is to prepare the guys in the best possible way to get out there and play positive, brave, fearless cricket,” Shastri said in a Sky Sports Podcast with England former players Rob Key, Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton.
“The captain leads from the front. Yes, we are there to take off the burden from him but you leave to do his job in the middle. The captain sets the tone and is encouraged to set the tone. In the middle, he controls the show,” Shastri added.
The coach has hailed that they are at the number one spot in Test cricket due to improved fitness and fielding standards and Kohli’s attitude is the main aspect of this change in Indian cricket.
“When you talk about fitness, the leadership comes from the top and it came from Virat, he woke up one morning and said ‘if I want to play this game I want to be the fittest player in the world and compete against the best in all conditions’ and he let his body go through a lot,” he maintained.
As the cricket is on hold due to coronavirus pandemic, Shastri believes that it is “welcome rest for the players”.
“I could see towards the end of the New Zealand tour that players were coming with mental fatigue, physical fitness, and injuries. The amount of cricket we played over the last 10 months was beginning to take its toll. Guys like me and some of the support staff left India on May 23 for the World Cup in England and since then we’ve been home for just 10-11 days,” he concluded.
It is pertinent to mention that India was all set to host South Africa at home but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the series got postponed.
