Virat Kohli, India’s captain, claims that his connection with head coach Ravi Shastri is built on mutual respect and trust, which has helped them become the team that “everyone wants to beat.”
Kohli was welcomed by his teammates at the Taj hotel here on the eve of the fourth Test against England at the Oval on Thursday for the inaugural ceremony of a new premium members’ club called ‘The Chambers.’
“Our working relationship, and off the field as well, has been built on mutual respect and trust, on a vision that has been shared, which has been focussed in one direction which is to take Indian cricket higher and in a better place than we found it,” said Kohli.
“That was always our aim and I think, along with the brilliance of the whole team, the talent that we have been blessed with, we have been able to achieve that.
“We stand as the team that everyone wants to beat anywhere we play in the world and that for us is a matter of immense pride,” he added.
The occasion was commemorated with a special ‘Rendezvous Series’ centred on Shastri’s debut as an author, ‘Stargazing: The Players In My Life,’ which was released in the UK.
Kohli added, “It’s his first book, and I hope he writes a few more because he has a lot more to contribute.”
Shastri was asked about the ongoing series, which is currently 1-1, during an interview for his new book, and he vowed that things will get “spicier” in the final two games.
“When you have a captain on the same page, it becomes pretty easy and most of my boys are on a similar page,” said Shastri.
“The idea was to take the game forward and play to win. We’re not here to fill in the numbers, we’re here to play cricket that is positive and play to win.
“It’s been one spicy series, that’s the way it should be, and I just think it’ll be spicier over the next couple of weeks,” he said.
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