Lauding the permanent captain of this Indian side, Virat Kohli, the Indian coach Ravi Shastri said that credit must be given to the original captain of this team as it is his ethics and hard work that has rubbed on to the team.
"You must give credit to Virat Kohli. He may not be here. He has gone back home. But his character, his personality is there for everyone to see in this team,” Shastri said in the post-match press conference.
Further, the coach also praised the current captain Ajinkya Rahane for taking over the team as a calm, composed head. Reminding how India were left with no choices and had no one left in the squad when the final Test started, Shastri said, “India beat Australia in Australia last time but there was not a single bowler from that tour playing in this last game. It was important to keep the self-belief going.”
Addressing the media Shastri, a former India captain himself talked about the process and said, “You people believe it has come overnight. It hasn't come overnight. It is a process that has taken 5-6 years. These boys have been playing with each other for five-six years.”
“They have had tough tours, they have had losses. What they have learned now is never give up. Feeling defeated is one thing. But not giving up is not in our game. And that this team has shown. And you have to give credit to Kohli," the coach added praising the captain who returned to India after the team’s humiliating defeat in Adelaide as he had prior plans to be with his wife for their first childbirth.
Saying that he rarely gets emotional, Shastri also shared that he had tears in his eyes after the team pulled off a series win in the greatest series played in history. "I got emotional. I am not someone who has tears in my eyes but I really had absolutely real tears in my eyes. This is unreal. What these guys have pulled off will go down in history as one of the greatest series ever played,” Shastri, 58, said.
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