Kohli thanks Shastri for doing great job as Team India Head Coach

Dubai, Nov 8 : Team India Captain Virat Kohli, who played his last game against Namibia as T20I skipper, thanked Ravi Shastri and his support staff for doing a great job over the years and creating a wonderful environment for players.

“A big thank you to all those guys (Ravi Shastri and his support staff). They have done a great job over the years, creating such a wonderful environment for the players. People loved to get back to the atmosphere. They have done a really great job,” he said in a post-match ceremony.

He also said that he will cease to play cricket if he is not aggressive on the ground. “That (his aggression) is never going to change. The day it does, I will stop playing cricket. Even before I became captain, I have always loved to contribute in some way or the other,” he said.

On his farewell match as T20I captain, Kohli said it is a relief for him because it was time for him to manage handling the heavy workload for the last six to seven years.

“Relief firstly on leaving T20I captaincy. It has been an honor to captain Team India. I felt this was the right time to manage my workload. It has been six or seven years of heavy workload and there is a lot of pressure,” he said.

Kohli further said the teammates have been fantastic, though they have not got the results here.

“The guys have really made my work easier. The way we played the last three games, it’s a game of margins – T20 cricket these days. Two overs of attacking cricket at the top is what we were missing in the first two games. As I said, we weren’t brave enough in those games and in the group we were in, it was tough,” he said.

Surya did not get much game time in this World Cup, he added.

Player of the Match Ravindra Jadeja also thanked Shastri, Bharat Arun and Sridhar and said they were really good to support the players, and whoever came next, they would look to continue the momentum.

UNI