Ravi Shastri will surely go down as one of India’s most successful coaches of all time but as per a former Pakistan captain, the ex-allrounder turned commentator had ‘no business’ stepping into a coaching role. Shastri was appointed head coach of the Indian team in 2017 after the controversial ouster of Anil Kumble from that position, but ever since taking over, Shastri’s resumes is filled with achievements no Indian coach before him could boast of. Under Shastri, India won two Test series in Australia and led England 2-1 on their soil. Besides, the team reached the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy, the inaugural World Test Championship and the semifinal of the 2019 World Cup.
And yet, former wicketkeeper Rashid Latif reckons the decision to remove Kumble and replace him with Shastri has backfired, and somehow managed to co-relate Virat Kohli‘s slump in form to Shastri being appointed as coach. “It is because of him (Ravi Shastri) that this has happened,” Latif said when asked about his reaction to Shastri’s advice of break to Virat Kohli on the YouTube channel ‘Caught Behind’.
Shastri was appointed Team India’s director in 2014 and remained in charge until 2016 when Kumble was named the head coach. However, a fallout between coach Kumble and former captain Kohli led to the spin legend resigning from his post before Shastri officially stepped in in July of 2017. Latif believes that Shastri, who had been commentating for years prior, shouldn’t have involved himself in coaching, and indirectly mentioned that Kohli’s form has taken a hit because of the bridges that were burned earlier.
“In 2019, you sidelined a player like Kumble and in came Ravi Shastri. Whether he had the accreditation or not, I have no idea. He was a broadcaster. Had no business in coaching. Barring Virat Kohli, I am sure there would have been other people who played a role in getting Shastri in. But that is backfiring now, isn’t it? Had he (Shastri) not become the coach, he (Kohli) wouldn’t have gone out (of form).”
