ISLAMABAD
\nIn a candid chat, Ravi Shastri revealed that he expected Virat Kohli to lead India in Rohit Sharma\u2019s absence for the rescheduled 5th Test against England in Birmingham.
\nVirat Kohli\u2019s unfulfilling exit as India\u2019s captain from all three formats of the game did feel like a bad breakup story. With the cricketing world still trying to understand what transpired between India\u2019s finest Test captain to date and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), there remain those who are still wondering if there\u2019s a way for Kohli to return as India\u2019s captain for one last match.
\nThough his return as Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper, even on a temporary basis, gave fans something to cheer about, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has admitted that he expected Kohli to lead when Rohit was injured for the rescheduled Birmingham Test against England.
\nWith Rohit out due to a Covid-19 infection, it was Jasprit Bumrah who led the Indian team for the rescheduled 5th Test against Ben Stokes\u2019 men.
\nThe first four Tests of the series were led by Kohli. But, there was no U-turn for Virat, even for the solitary match despite Rohit\u2019s absence. Shastri said that if he was the head coach for that match, he would\u2019ve asked Kohli to lead.
\n\u201cI thought he (Kohli) would (lead the side). Once Rohit was injured (positive Covid-19 report), I thought he would be asked. If I was still there, I would\u2019ve.
\nI\u2019m sure Rahul might have done the same thing; I don\u2019t know, I haven\u2019t spoken to him, but I would\u2019ve recommended the board that it\u2019s only fair he leads because he was part of the team that was leading 2-1 in the series. And he probably could\u2019ve gotten the best out of players,\u201d Shastri said in an interview on ESPNCricinfo.
\nWhen asked if doubts over leading the country would\u2019ve prevented Kohli from taking up the baton for the said match, Shastri quashed the suggestion.
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\n\u201cNot at all. It\u2019s an honour leading your country. These are circumstances where you got to put your best foot forward. Your regular captain is injured, he\u2019s not part of the team, so seeing what\u2019s at stake, beating England in England, 2-1 up… how many teams beat England and Australia in the same year, overseas?\u201d Shastri further said.
\nCould it be possible for Kohli to comeback and lead India again, maybe in the World Test Championship final this year? Shastri is dreaming and so are millions of fans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD In a candid chat, Ravi Shastri revealed that he expected Virat Kohli to lead India in Rohit Sharma\u2019s absence for the rescheduled 5th Test against England in Birmingham. Virat Kohli\u2019s unfulfilling exit as India\u2019s captain from all three formats of the game did feel like a bad breakup story. With the cricketing world still […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328269,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-328249","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n