Time to start thinking about Virat Kohli as captain in all formats: Ravi Shastri

Former team director of the Indian cricket team Ravi Shastri on Monday seems to have a clear opinion about Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni’s future role in the team. He feels that Kohli is matured as a skipper and should now become the captain in all three formats.

“If I am the chairman of selectors, I would be thinking in that fashion, absolutely. It is time to start thinking. You have to see India has no major event in three years till 2019 World Cup. This is your best chance to think and build,” Shastri told India Today channel.

Kohli already leads India in Test cricket, from which Dhoni has retired, but Dhoni still leads in the shorter formats. Shastri, however, made it clear that Dhoni can still contribute as a player.

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“By no stretch of imagination, you are taking anything away from MS. He can still contribute massively as a player. Time has come to allow him to enjoy himself, enjoy the game. It also depends on how much hungry MS is, how passionate he is, whether the juices are still flowing. It’s a Catch-22 situation but you have to take hard decisions.”

Shastri said that it’s time to look ahead and reminded that one needs to have groomed leaders over a period of time.

“A time has come where you have a guy you have groomed over a period of time, who is ready. In the next 18 months, India hardly play any ODIs, the gaps between Tests and ODIs are massive. So, it’s time to look ahead.” Shastri said that one can take a cue from Australian template. “Mark Taylor was a great captain but they started to groom Steve Waugh. Just when you thought that Waugh was firmly there, in came Ricky Ponting and then Michael Clarke, the best captain after Mark Taylor. And now you have Steve Smith.”