Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Bangar and Virat Kohli: When three wasn’t a crowd

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri and batting coach Sanjay Bangar look back at the partnership that led to a golden period in India’s Test history

For any player to realise his potential and be a successful captain, the support system needs to be right. In India’s cricket history, this was seen in the success of the captain-coach combinations of Mohammed Azharuddin and Ajit Wadekar and later Sourav Ganguly and John Wright.

Whenever Virat Kohli looks back on his career, he will cherish the period under coaches Ravi Shastri and Sanjay Bangar.

Whenever Virat Kohli looks back on his career, he will cherish the period under coaches Ravi Shastri and Sanjay Bangar. As the chief coach and batting/assistant coaches, the two brought out the best in him as captain and batter. That in turn helped Kohli transform India into a formidable force which dominated Test cricket like never before.

Kohli benefitted as Shastri and his staff fostered a healthy atmosphere, backed him and provided the right technical inputs.

The partnership started when Shastri became director of India team for eight months, from the tour of England till the 2015 World Cup. The former India all-rounder was answering an SOS from the board after the disastrous Test series in England where Kohli averaged 13.5 in 10 innings with a highest of 39. The team’s morale was low and Kohli’s confidence had hit rock bottom.

But with Shastri to back him and Bangar as batting coach, Kohli not only managed to put it all behind but also take his game to a different level. On the tour of Australia in 2014-15, the batter hit four centuries in eight innings at an average of 86.50. During that tour he was appointed India Test captain.

The prefect fit

Kohli and Shastri proved to be a perfect fit: aggressive and not ready to take a step back, they didn’t hesitate to take strong decisions. It helped release the pressure off Kohli.

“You can’t pin point it on one thing. You got to have minds that are similar when it comes to the way forward, what’s your goal, how you want to achieve it, how you want to build your team,” said Shastri, ahead of Kohli’s 100th Test which begins in Mohali on Friday. “I think a lot of things fell in place from the beginning and hence that kind of success.”

The things that spur Kohli, according to Shastri, are his “work ethic, professionalism, hunger for success, hunger to be the best in the world.” Shastri said Kohli would be remembered as one of the great players of this decade. “Not many get that accolade during their playing days,” said Shastri who was made head coach in July 2017 and remained in charge until the 2021 T20 World Cup.

Bangar was added to set-up in August, 2014. It didn’t take much time for the former India all-rounder to gain the confidence of the world’s premier batter. It reflected in Kohli’s batting form. Bangar was there till 2019 and it proved to be Kohli’s most fruitful period as a batter. To his tally of six hundreds, Kohli added 19 before Bangar moved out in August, 2019.

The highlight of their association was the way Kohli overcame his weakness against the moving ball on the tour of England in 2018 to record three centuries against an attack led by James Anderson. “He is extremely growth-oriented in his mindset, always keen to iron out deficiencies,” said Bangar, now Kohli’s head coach at Royal Challengers Bangalore. By way of example, Bangar spoke of Kohli working on “his bottom-hand grip, playing the ball late in swinging conditions and developing his off-side game.”

Perth panache

Shastri and Bangar picked out Kohli’s 123 in the second Test of the 2018-19 series at Perth as his finest. India were under pressure after Australia scored 326 and it was a tough, pacey pitch to bat on. The tourists lost but Kohli’s first innings knock received rave reviews. “Plenty of his innings stood out, not all of them have to be hundreds. One in Perth stands out because it was an awkward track, the bounce was uneven and he stood out amongst every batsman in that match. That’s what marks out the best because the pitch is the same for everybody but then one guy stands out and he stood out,” said Shastri.

“For me, Perth Test hundred in 2018-19 on one of the fastest wicket was truly one of his memorable hundreds,” said Bangar.

That tour of Australia will go down as Kohli’s finest hour as captain because he led India to a historic series win, becoming the first Asian team to beat Australia at home.

For Bangar, doing well overseas is what defines Kohli’s tenure. “Virat, as captain, was driven by the desire to chase victories in overseas conditions and he led by example in that quest. He worked on converting 100 to big hundreds and that reflected in his performances as batsman."

‘Wanted to compete’

Shastri’s role was crucial in helping Kohli change India’s mindset while going into battles in tough overseas conditions. At home, they routed all opposition but their aggressive body language during the 2017-18 South Africa series took everyone by surprise. After losing the first two Tests, Kohli led India to victory in the third Test at Johannesburg’s Wanderers stadium where the ball threatened the limbs and head of the batters.

“We wanted to compete. There was no point going overseas and then just accepting the inevitable. You go there and say, ‘it is the same pitch for both sides, let’s compete.’ I mean, winning and losing keeps on happening but give it your best shot. Get yourself in a position to win games, which means you have to take 20 wickets, you know all that kind of stuff,” said Shastri. For the former India coach, Kohli’s role in creating a culture of fitness was also important in making the team a force outside the sub-continent. It was one area the previous generation had lagged behind South Africa, Australia, New Zealand or England.

“It was always about the challenge for Kohli and wanting to compete; the level of fitness how he changed suddenly from what he was 2008-09 – 2012, sudden transformation in the last five to six years in his work ethics, his diet, kind of sacrifices he made,” said Shastri.

An astute brain, Shastri also backed Kohli with tactical inputs. Also, no one understood Kohli’s game better than Shastri and Bangar. His tremendous work ethic was backed by thorough analysis.

“He asked honest answers of his coaches, he would want to be watched very carefully, even for little, little things. He would see if his footwork was right, his balance was right, little things. Sometimes when you are out on the road for long, things can creep in without you realising. I would only tell him something if there was a need to tell him. It is pointless to say, this is not right but what is the solution to it? If you don’t have the solution then there’s no point saying it,” said Shastri.

They had their share of controversies because the duo was not afraid to take strong decisions. They provoked the opposition, ruffled feathers in their dressing room but their success means the era of Kohli and Shastri will go down as the golden period in India’s Test history.