Rohit Sharma’s a very capable guy: Ravi Shastri

Will the erstwhile Team India head coach Ravi Shastri be remembered for the things he failed to achieve rather than what he did That depends on whether you see his glass as half full or half emptyThere is little doubt that Shastrirsquos glass is not as full as a Patiala peg Under him Team India did win backtoback Test series in Australia and are ahead in the fivematch series in England besides winning many bilateral series but there will always be a blot on his CV of not having won a single ICC event Beginning as Team Director during the 2015 World Cup in Australia to the current T20 World Cup in UAE the Men in Blue have fallen short each timeShastri whose tenure ended with Team Indiarsquos failure to qualify for the semifinals of the T20 World Cup spoke to the media after the win over Namibia on Monday night He had nothing but praise for the Virat Kohliled team during his tenure ldquoTheyrsquore a great side Irsquom telling you I donrsquot say that too often Itrsquos one of the great sides to have played cricket at the highest level in the history of the game when you look all around So letrsquos not take anything away from thatrdquo he saidldquoYes Itrsquos a very emotional day for me because Irsquove been part of this team for seven yearshellipfor me to be part of that journey with the boys and for the boys to respond and raise the bar in that fashion leaves you going from the dressing room emotional but a very proud manrdquo added ShastriFrom the looks of it it seems this team was a little too obsessed about winning Tests in England and Australia rather than with winning an ICC title Shastri however felt thatrsquos not true ldquoFor me everything is important If yoursquore playing a big tournament a big series you play to win So itrsquos not happened this time but it will happen another time for this team Theyrsquore far too talented not to get something going or get a big trophy in the hands soon especially the way they played white ball cricket in bilateral series So somewhere down the line the rub of the green should go their way in an ICC event toordquolsquoA strong T20 teamrsquoThere is little doubt that Indiarsquos T20 team needs to improve under a new captain especially looking ahead at the next World Cup And Shastri is optimistic ldquoAs far as the T20 team goes I think wersquoll always have a strong team We might not have won this World Cup but going forward wersquoll continue to have a strong team because the IPL throws a lot of young players into the mix I think in Rohit Sharma yoursquove got a very capable guy Hersquos won so many IPLs Hersquos the vicecaptain of this side Hersquos waiting in the wings to take that captaincy jobrdquoThere is little doubt that the ShastriKohli combine leave behind a strong legacy for the incoming team management to take Indian cricket forward ldquoLook at the quality of cricket this team have played over the last five years across all formats The performances are there for everyone to see When you perform in that fashion where you go across the globe across all formats and beat teams then you know yoursquore part of one great cricket team Irsquom not just saying that this is a great Indian cricket team Irsquom saying this is one of the great cricket teams in the history of the game Because if you look at those kinds of performances they donrsquot happen oftenFit hungry and fearlessldquoYoursquove got to have a bunch of players who are fit hungry fearless have the quality have the belief and then to stay fit so you can play those five years together and go across the globe and perform everywhererdquo Shastri explainedShastri hailed captain Kohli too ldquoWith Virat leading the way hersquos been one of the great ambassadors of the game especially when you look at red ball cricket the way hersquos embraced it And itrsquos allowed other players in the team to follow suit Yoursquove got to give credit where itrsquos due So itrsquos a team culture which was impressed upon the team to follow and they followed it to the hilt They played fearless cricket round the globerdquo Shastri concluded