'It reminds me of Gavaskar and Kapil': Ravi Shastri compares Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma's captaincy

Ravi Shastri said the duo have never been affected by all the off-field talks about their relation, saying that they are both “professionals”.

Former India  head coach Ravi Shastri on Sunday compared the leadership abilities of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, stating the two stalwarts of Indian cricket reminded him of former Indian captains - Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar. 

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. (Getty)

Talking to Star Sports during the Lunch break on the opening day of the first Test between India and South Africa in Centurion, Shastri opined that Kohli's captaincy reminded him of Kapil, who was more spontaneous with his choices and decisions, while he felt Rohit is more like Gavaskar, with both having a calculative approach towards the game. 

However, he admitted that the duo have never been affected by all the off-field talks about their relation, saying that they are both “professionals”.  

“You look at the two and compare their captaincy and it reminds me of Sunny and Kapil. Kapil the more Virat like, spontaneous, instinctive, goes with the gut feeling and Rohit more like Gavaskar, calculative and extremely efficient, calm and composed. I don't think the team was too worried about what was on the outside, to be honest. And I am not saying because I'm sitting here. They were professionals,” said the former Indian all-rounder. 

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Kohli had stepped down from his T20I captaincy after the forgettable T20 World Cup campaign earlier in October and was removed from his role as the leader in ODI cricket moments before the team selection for the Test series against South Africa. 

Rohit was named the new T20I captain after the 2021 World T20 and was handed the ODI responsibility as well in December. He led India to a series whitewash against New Zealand at home in his first campaign as a full-time T20I skipper in November and will lead the Indian team in his first campaign as a full-time ODI captain in the series against South Africa later in January 2022. 

Kohli will continue as India's Test captain.