Ravi Shastri's tenure as India's head coach from 2017 to 2021 is remembered for its aggressive brand of cricket, historic overseas wins and a golden period for the team in Test cricket.
Working alongside Virat Kohli as captain, the pair shaped a successful era that took India to the top of the ICC Test rankings. Yet, despite the impressive record - Shastri admits there is one area where he wishes things had turned out differently.
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Virat Kohli hailed as the best player Ravi Shastri coached
Speaking on Sky Sports' YouTube channel, Shastri called Virat Kohli the finest player he coached. He praised Kohli's dominance across formats during his peak years.
"I would say Kohli, the batsman in his pomp, was unbelievable because in those five years when India were No. 1 in the red-ball format. Some of the innings he played in Australia, South Africa, England, across formats was unreal," Shastri said.
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He recalled identifying Kohli as the team's leader after MS Dhoni stepped down - highlighting his intensity, competitiveness and commitment to fair play.
"His ability to dominate, be in the face, play hard but play fair, and wanting to win and take the game forward" stood out for the former coach.
Missing out on an ICC title remains Ravi Shastri's main regret
While satisfied with the cricket India played, Shastri admitted that not lifting an ICC trophy still lingers as a regret.
"If anything, you could say we were a little unlucky, we should have won an ICC trophy. In that time, we had the team to do it, but we still played some great cricket," he said.
Under the Kohli-Shastri era, India reached the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final and finished runners-up in the inaugural World Test Championship. Despite not winning the trophy, the era is widely regarded as one of India's most dominant phases in world cricket.