After 36 all out in Sydney against Australia, many former cricketers had predicted India will lose the next three matches with Virat Kohli also leaving. But the Indian skipper was all through connected with the team, as Ravi Shastri said. Fielding coach R Sridhar has also revealed that Virat Kohli also had an important discussion with the team after Sydney Test to plan for the Melbourne Test.
During a conversation with off-spinner R Ashwin on the latter’s Youtube channel, Sridhar said Kohli had messaged him around 12:30 am after India suffered a humiliating loss in Adelaide to discuss the plans for the next Test in Melbourne.
“It was midnight, around 12.30 am, the night we lost the Adelaide Test. Virat Kohli messaged me: ‘What are you doing?’ I was shocked. I thought why is he messaging at this time? I told him head coach (Ravi Shastri), myself, Bharat Arun, and Vikram Rathour are sitting together. He said, ‘I’ll also join you’. I said, ‘no problem, come over.’
“He came there and all of us started discussing. That’s where ‘Mission Melbourne’ began. Shastri made a point there, ‘This 36, wear it like a badge! This 36 is what will make this team great’,” Sridhar said.
Ravi Shastri, Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya decided to strengthen the bowling: Sridhar
R Sridhar revealed that Ajinkya Rahane, who was due to take India’s captaincy, and Kohli gathered for a long discussion for chalking out the plans for the MCG Test. And, the outcome of the meeting was that Ravindra Jadeja will replace Virat Kohli in the playing XI, which turned out to be a masterstroke. The spin-bowling allrounder scored a crucial fifty and also became the leading wicket-taker in the second Test match.
“We were slightly confused but then we started talking about the decisions we’d have to take. Virat called Ajinkya the next morning and we had a very good discussion. After a 36 all-out, usually, teams would strengthen their batting. But Ravi Shastri, Virat, and Ajinkya decided to strengthen the bowling. That’s how we replaced Virat with Ravindra Jadeja, and it was a masterstroke,” concluded Sridhar.
Team India defied all the predictions and turned the table after the great MCG comeback. Eventually, Ajinkya Rahane-led Indian side retained the trophy and won the four-match Test series by 2-0.