Ravi Shastri calls Kohli a 'Champion', says every player has the right to fail

All the assumptions and speculations were finally put to rest by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) when they officially appointed Ravi Shastri as the head coach of Team India until the 2019 World Cup, and along with him, also chose Zaheer Khan as the bowling coaching and Rahul Dravid as the batting consultant of the team for all the overseas Tests, including the upcoming Sri Lanka tour.

Meanwhile, Shastri, who formerly also served as the team director from 2014-16, has made it clear that he has no hard feelings for former India captain and a member of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) Sourav Ganguly, with whom he was involved in a war or words last year when Anil Kumble was selected as the coach. Shastri said that the differences between two individuals don’t matter when the ultimate goal is to bring laurels to the team and country.

“Individuals do not matter. We are both former captains and there is bound to be disagreements but that is all right. There was some good questions asked in the meeting and they were answered. Whatever happened in the meeting stays confidential. For the interest of Indian cricket we must move forward,” he told India Today.

Shastri was not nervous about BCCI’s final call

When he was asked about his anxiety during the build-up to the official announcement, Shastri said that he did not lose his sleep over it and instead chilled in London. India have a lot of competitive cricket to play until the 2019 World Cup, and the head coach said he is looking forward to all the upcoming assignments.

“This is precisely the reason why I can’t wait to get started. This is a quality bunch and they can become one of the best Indian teams. I have no baggages and whatever happened in the last year doesn’t matter. I will start from where I left,” he said.

In defense of Virat Kohli

When asked to comment on captain Kohli’s batting in the last few series, which has not been as consistent as expected of a player like him, Shastri had only one thing to say. “He is a champion. Everyone has the right to fail,” he said.

His take on the future of MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh in the team was that  “They are both champion players. The 2019 World Cup is a long time and we will take a decision at the right time,” he said.