Virat Kohli is the boss, I’m merely there to take pressure off him, admits Ravi Shastri

When Ravi Shastri was appointed as the head coach of the Indian Men’s Cricket Team in July 2017 by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), comprising Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, there was instant backlash over the decision. Many felt that the 57-year-old was nothing more than a ‘yes man’ and was not capable of doing an able job at the top level, given that he had little experience coaching at the highest level before taking over the prestigious role.

However, Shastri has since defied critics and while his ‘in your face’ attitude has not gone down well with many, he has formed indestructible chemistry with skipper Virat Kohli and the duo, over the course of the last 30 months, has helped the Indian side dominate world cricket. Speaking about his role as coach, Shastri insisted that it is Kohli who is the real ‘boss’ and asserted that the role of the coach is nothing but to support the captain and ensure that the players are well-prepared. 

"The captain is the boss, I always believe that," Kohli told Rob Key, Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton in a Sky Sports podcast.

"The job of the coaching staff, as far as I'm concerned, is to prepare the guys in the best possible way to be able to go out there and play brave, positive, fearless cricket.

The 57-year-old, who was a top-tier all-rounder himself for the Indian side in the 80s, believes that a coach must leave it to the captain to call the shots and stated that the role of a mentor is to merely encourage the skipper - and subsequently his players - to execute the plans that are already in place. A former captain himself, Shastri asserted that it is always the skipper who ‘controls the show’. 

"The job of the coaching staff, as far as I'm concerned, is to prepare the guys in the best possible way to be able to go out there and play brave, positive, fearless cricket.

"The captain leads from the front. Yes, we are there to take off the burden but you leave him to do his job in the middle. The captain sets the tone and is encouraged to set the tone. In the middle, he controls the show.