Ravi Shastri, former head coach of the Indian cricket team, reacted to India’s Test and ODI series loss in
South Africa and said it is a “temporary phase” as he thinks the team will
overcome it soon. India lost the Test series 2-1 and the ODI series 3-0 to
bring an end to a forgettable tour of South Africa. The series also witnessed Virat Kohli stepping down as India’s Test captain and playing ODIs only as a batter
for the first time since 2017.

Also Read: Shoaib Akhtar says Virat Kohli was ‘forced’ to leave India captaincy

“If
you lose one series, you people start criticising… You can’t win every game,
there will be wins and losses,” Shastri, who ended his tenure after the
T20 World Cup in UAE last year, told PTI on the sidelines of the ongoing
Legends League Cricket.

The
ODI series defeat in South Africa was their first after Kohli was sacked as
skipper in the 50-over format in December last year.

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Shastri
said he did not follow a single ball of the South Africa series but refused to
believe that the standard has dropped.

“How
can the standard go down suddenly? For five years, you have been number one
side in the world,” he asserted.

Also Read: Had Virat Kohli led for two more years he would have won 50-60 Tests: Ravi Shastri

Keeping
in mind the T20 World Cup in Australia in October, India have a packed
white-ball calendar and will be hosting West Indies, Sri Lanka and South Africa
this year.

With
IPL being a 10-team affair this time, the home season would stretch till June
before the Indians leave for England to play the final Test of a series that
was halted midway last year due to a COVID-19 outbreak, followed by three T20Is
and 3 ODIs.

Also Read: Cricket fraternity stunned as Virat Kohli steps down as Team India’s Test Captain

Shastri
maintained that there’s nothing to worry about and dismissed the recent
setbacks as a temporary phase.

“When
you have a win ratio of 65 per cent over the last five years, what is there to
worry about? What is there to worry about, our rival teams should worry,”
he said.

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“You have to respect Kohli’s
decision”

Kohli
announced his decision to quit as Test skipper a day after the team lost 1-2.
Shastri such decisions should be respected as it boils down to individual
choice.

“It’s
his choice. You have to respect his decision. There is a time for everything. A
lot of big players in the past have left captaincy when they felt they wanted
to focus on their batting or on their cricket.

Also Read: ‘This is the guy’: Ravi Shastri recalls suggesting Shikhar Dhawan to Virat Kohli

“Whether
it’s (Sachin) Tendulkar, (Sunil) Gavaskar or (MS) Dhoni. And, it’s Virat Kohli
now.”

Asked
whether his body language has changed following the captaincy saga, Shastri
said, “As I said, I’ve not followed a single ball in the series. But I
don’t think there will be too much change in Virat Kohli.”

Also Read: ‘This is the guy’: Ravi Shastri recalls suggesting Shikhar Dhawan to Virat Kohli

“I
took a break after seven years in the game, been part of the team, One thing is
very clear, I do not wash dirty linen in public.