The Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri era recently came to an end following the completion of India’s campaign in the T20 World Cup 2021. While Rahul Dravid has taken the duties of India’s head coach from Ravi Shastri, on the other hand, Rohit Sharma has been appointed as India’s T20I captain.
The Indian cricket team achieved phenomenal success during the tenure of Kohli-Shastri, who had joined forces back in 2017. Though, the team achieved several milestones, but one significant box remained unchecked as this duo failed to win an ICC trophy.
Recently, in an interview, legendary Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev talked about India’s performance and presented a report card, summarizing team India’s performance under Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri. Kapil Dev feels that Shastri and Kohli’s tenure will remain incomplete in the absence of an ICC title.
Speaking about the early exit of the Men in Blue from the mega tournament, in an interview with Uncut, Kapil Dev admitted that this was the first time since the 2007 ODI World Cup when the Indian cricket team returned back after giving such a poor performance. He said:
“I think both have done a superb job. I understand that they could not win India a major trophy but if we look at the last five years, since Kohli took over, there has been nothing lacking. The big thing lacking is an ICC trophy. Apart from that, India have won in Australia, England… wherever they have travelled, they have beaten the other team,”
He added:
“Reaching the World Cup knockouts is also a huge deal. I think after the 2007 World Cup in West Indies, this T20 World Cup is where it felt that India were disappointing. Had they reached the top 4 and then lost, it is understandable. But if you don’t reach the top 4, there will be criticism,”
Kapil Dev concluded by giving 90 percent to India’s performance in the recently concluded match. He deducted the 10percent remaining because of the lack of an ICC trophy. He said:
“If you look at it from a trophy point of view, that’s a different thing altogether. But if you look at their cricket, the brand they have played in the last five years, I would give them 90 percent marks out of 100, and deduct 10 percent marks for not winning an ICC Trophy,”
