‘Can’t believe you are done’ – Ravi Shastri shares heart-to-heart message for Virat Kohli following Test retirement

‘Can’t believe you are done’ – Ravi Shastri shares heart-to-heart message for Virat Kohli following Test retirement. (Photo source: Mark Klobe/Getty Images)

Ravi Shastri has found himself in a state of shock to hear about the retirement of legendary batter Virat Kohli from Test cricket.

Notably, Kohli took the cricket fraternity by surprise as he conveyed his Test retirement via an Instagram post on Monday, May 12, calling an end to his 14-year-long career in the format. Shastri, who was at the helm of affairs as an India head coach during Kohli’s full-fledged captaincy tenure with the Indian team between 2017 and 2022, expressed disbelief to know the decision of the New Delhi-born.

“Can’t believe you are done. You are a modern-day GIANT and were a fantastic ambassador for Test match cricket in every way you played and captained. Thank you for the lasting memories you’ve given to everyone, and to me in particular. It’s something I will cherish for life. Go well, champ. God bless,” Shastri wrote for Virat taking to his official ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter) handle.

A look at India’s record in Tests under Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri

The former cricketer, busy with commentary, got a surprise call from the BCCI to take over as the head coach of the Indian team across formats. Forming an awe-inspiring partnership with Virat, Shastri worked from behind the scenes to take India’s Test cricket to greater heights. The head coach-captain duo played a tally of 40 Tests together over a period of more than five years. They won a staggering 23 out of those, and lost just 13 while four games were drawn.

India strongly held the position as the No. 1-ranked Test team under Shastri and Kohli’s partnership and even got the side to the finals of the World Test Championship in 2021. However, the best highlighting of this stint was when the Indians beat Australia Down Under in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2018-19, clinching their first series win in Australia by a 2-1 margin.

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