'He doesn't care at all'- Virat Kohli reveals how Ravi Shastri reacts to criticism

It is fair to say Team India has become a mean-winning juggernaut ever since Virat Kohli took over the leadership duties, especially in Test cricket. The Men in Blue have not been absolutely invincible at home, winning 12 successive Test rubbers under Kohli, but they also have been pretty competitive in overseas conditions. Even though they lost in South Africa (1-2, 2018) and England (1-4, 2018), those who watched those series know pretty well how competitive Team India was.

Apart from these setbacks, Kohli’s men have defeated Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka (2015 and 2017) and West Indies in the Caribbean (2016 and 2019) twice besides also scripting their maiden Test series win in Australia, last summer. One of the constants in Kohli’s reign as Indian captain (apart from the 12 months that Anil Kumble served) has been former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Ravi Shastri. It is well documented that both Kohli and Shastri share a very close relationship; a relationship of mutual respect and trust.

Virat Kohli opens up on the criticism and trolling Ravi Shastri receives

Kohli and other Indian cricketers have, in the past, hailed Shastri’s man-management skills. However, critics and fans have often accused of Shastri being Kohli’s ‘Yes Man’. The former Indian all-rounder has often been at the receiving end of social media trolls.

But, according to Kohli, Coach Shastri just doesn’t care what all is written about him. Speaking to India Today in a candid chat with Boria Majumdar, Kohli said, “If it was random, one guy would write it and the others would not focus on it because it is not important enough. In Ravi bhai’s case, he is luckily a person who doesn’t care at all. I mean a guy who has faced that attack (during his career) without a helmet and got runs there, he is not gonna be bothering about someone sitting at home and trolling him.”

“Because if you want to troll a guy who has done that, Get Up, Go into that position, face those bowlers, do what he has done, and then have a debate with that guy. He is absolutely chilled out. He says our only focus is on how we can be the best team of all time,” said the Indian captain as quoted by Times Now.