The former Indian head coach, Ravi Shastri, has warned the batting legend and former captain, Virat Kohli, after the latter got out on two consecutive ducks in the first two ODIs of the three-match series against Australia down under. It hasn’t marked a strong start to the new era of Indian ODI cricket under Shubman Gill’s captaincy, as they have started their plan for the upcoming 2027 World Cup.

Shastri told Fox Sports that the next season of the 50-over World Cup was a long way off for Virat Kohli, who has now recorded eight-ball and four-ball ducks against Australia at the Optus Stadium and the Adelaide Oval.

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“He’ll have to get some form pretty quickly. The competition for places is so intense in India in white-ball cricket that no one is going to relax, whether it’s Virat, Rohit, or anyone in the team. Times have changed significantly over the last seven months in Indian cricket, which has been undergoing a transition phase.” Shastri expressed during the interaction on Fox Sports.

Ravi Shastri advises Virat Kohli after consecutive ducks against Australia down under

In the opening game of the series, Kohli got out on zero as he mistimed the drive against Mitchell Starc into the hands of the backward point fielder. The right-handed batter, in Adelaide, missed the straight ball from Xavier Bartlett and got beaten on the inside edge to be dismissed on leg before the stumps for a four-ball duck.

“And with an abundance of options to choose from, no single player is a certainty across formats anymore, not even the legendary Kohli. In the ODI set-up, he already has the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Verma, and Abhishek Sharma breathing down his neck.” Shastri addressed in the video.

“It’s not going to be easy; there is competition. He’s missed out again today; he was a little tentative with his footwork. It doesn’t happen often; his record in one-day cricket is phenomenal, so for him to get two ducks on the trot, he’ll be disappointed.” The former Indian head coach concluded on Fox Sports that the third and final ODI will take place on October 25 in Sydney. 

The former Indian head coach, Ravi Shastri, has picked his top five Indian players from the one-day internationals of all time. He went with Virat Kohli at the top, followed by the leading run-getter in the history of the format, Sachin Tendulkar. The inaugural World Cup-winning captain of the Blue Brigade, Kapil Dev, finds himself at three with MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma taking the last two places. 

Tendulkar smashed 18426 runs in 452 innings at an average of 44.83 and a strike rate of 86.23 with the help of 49 centuries, while Virat Kohli is second on the list with 14181 runs in 292 innings at an average of 57.41. Shastri revealed the reason for not keeping Jasprit Bumrah among the top five in the list.

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“I will go with these five, and the only reason I haven’t put Bumrah there is because he has another three to four years with him. These players, you know, or most of them are coming to the fag end of their career. They played for over a decade; some played for over a decade and a half. So, it’s tough. There are so many good players of the format looking back.”

Watch: Ravi Shastri picks Virat Kohli as number one ODI player of India

Rohit is third on the list of most runs for India in the ODIs, thanks to 11249 runs in 267 innings at an average of 48.69 and a strike rate of 92.62 with 32 centuries and 59 fifties at the best score of 264 runs. On the other hand, Kapil Dev has bagged 253 wickets in 221 ODI innings at an average of 27.45.

Ravi Shastri shares his top 5 Indian ODI players. Do you agree? 🤔👀

Catch #AUSvIND only on Fox Cricket, included on Kayo Sports! pic.twitter.com/h4FEgZQw04

— Kayo Sports (@kayosports) October 23, 2025

“But these are the standout players for me. You know, their contributions- especially to World Cups. There are two World Cup-winning captains. Barring Rohit Sharma, they all have won the World Cups. But can’t take Rohit out of the list. He has three double hundreds, over 11000 runs, and is number three of all-time run-getters. And all of them are genuine match winners.” Shastri addressed the interaction.

Dhoni, on the other hand, has done tremendously well. Winning the World Cup 2011 and the Champions Trophy 2025, besides collecting 10599 runs in 294 innings at an average of 39.15 and a strike rate of 87.13.

India’s upcoming tour of Australia in 2025 will feature a full white-ball schedule, including three ODIs and five T20Is. The series begins with the ODI opener in Perth on Sunday, October 19, setting the stage for a thrilling contest between the two sides.

The ODI leg of the tour will see the return of India’s senior stalwarts, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, marking their first appearances in international cricket this season. Additionally, the series will be the debut leadership assignment for Shubman Gill as India’s new ODI captain, taking over the reins from Rohit.

Following the 50-over matches, India and Australia will face off in a five-match T20I series, starting October 29 in Canberra. Fans in India can catch all eight white-ball fixtures live on Star Sports, with online streaming available via the JioHotstar app and website, ensuring supporters don’t miss any action from Down Under.

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IND vs AUS 2025: Commentary Team in English, Hindi, Regional Languages:

On October 15, Star Sports announced the complete commentary lineup for the India-Australia tour. The panel features former Indian stars like Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, and Ravi Shastri, along with ex-Australians including Matthew Hayden and David Warner.

Star Sports will telecast the IND vs AUS 2025 series in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. Fans can enjoy commentary and insights in their preferred language, with a full lineup of presenters and commentators covering all matches across the network.

English Commentary Panel:

Ravi Shastri, Adam Gilchrist, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, Robin Uthappa, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Mark Waugh, David Warner, Abhinav Mukund.

Hindi Commentary Panel:

Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel, Jatin Sapru, Aakash Chopra, Varun Aaron, Abhishek Nayar, Anant Tyagi.

Telugu Commentary Panel:

MSK Prasad, Venugopal Rao, Kalyan Krishna, Vindhya Vishaka, Kaushik NC, Suman Tirumalasetti, Ashish Reddy, Akshath Reddy, Prathyusha Sadhu.

Tamil Commentary Panel:

Kris Srikkanth, Sadagopan Ramesh, Sridharan Sriram, Bhavna Balakrishnan, Sameena Anwar, Muthu Pradeep, S Badrinath, Anirudha Srikkanth, Abhinav Mukund, KB Arun Karthik, Nanee, Ashwath Mukunthan.

Kannada Commentary Panel:

Vijay Bharadwaj, Vinay Kumar, Srinivas Murthy, Kiran Srinivas, Madhu Mailankody, Krishnappa Gowtham, Pavan Deshpande, Bharat Chipli, Sumesh Goni, Reena DSouza.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be back in competitive cricket since the end of the IPL2025 and for the first time for the national side since February this year when they earned the Champions Trophy 2025. There are speculations if the veterans would find the same rhythm and form during the series, which would be critical for their selection.

However, the former Indian head coach, Ravi Shastri, is uncertain around the future of the batting duo for the upcoming World Cup. He reckoned that the entire selection depends on their hunger and fitness as he compared it with Steve Smith from Australia’s point of view.

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“That's why they're here. They're part of the mix. It depends on their fitness, their hunger and, of course, form. So, I think this series is very important to see how they go. They themselves will know by the end of this series how they feel and then it's their call. It’s the same thing with Steve Smith from Australia's point of view.” Shastri expressed to Kayo Sports’ reporters in Sydney.

Ravi Shastri unsure of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli playing ODI World Cup 2027

Shastri also praised India’s performance in their title winning campaign of Asia Cup 2025. He also lauded Tilak Varma’s knock and pointed out the solid future in the presence of Shubman Gill, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel and others in the shortest format.

“Verma’s innings in that Asia Cup final was absolutely fantastic. Because under pressure to play like that (was impressive). There's some good young guns there in (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, there's (Shubman) Gill, there's Tilak Varma. A lot of good young talent and lot of allrounders as well in Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube and Axar Patel, so it's a strong white-ball unit.” The former Indian all-rounder explained.

“India is much stronger in white ball than the red ball. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli- they know that these youngsters are pushing them. But there's no substitute for experience when it comes to the big games, as we saw in the Champions Trophy. Come the big games and the big boys step up.” Shastri concluded.

It was another toss between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025, but it was a big toss as they were playing in the tournament Final. While it is the first Asia Cup Final meeting between India and Pakistan, we experienced a very strange incident at the toss. 

There is a tension between India and Pakistan in the entire Asia Cup 2025 due to the present tense situation between the two countries. The relation between the two cricket teams has also been affected in this tournament, as there are no handshakes, which the Indian team has decided to maintain away from the Pakistan team. 

Once again, the Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav maintained no handshake status with the Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha in the Asia Cup 2025 Final toss on Sunday (September 28) at Dubai. After the Indian captain SKY won the toss, he confidently chose to bowl first. But then we experienced a very strange incident.

Asia Cup 2025 Final, India vs Pakistan - Toss: Ravi Shastri interviewed Indian captain; Waqar Younis interviewed Pakistan captain

While the Indian captain Suryakumar gave the interview to the former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri, the former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis interviewed the Pakistan skipper Salman Agha. We always experience that only one anchor, generally a reputed commentator, takes both captains' interviews at the toss. But the Asia Cup 2025 Final has experienced this rare incident where both captains gave the toss interviews to different commentators. 

Asia Cup 2025 Final: Hardik Pandya missing the Final

During the toss, the Indian captain brought the harsh news for the Indian cricket fans, as the star all-rounder Hardik Pandya would miss the Asia Cup 2025 Final due to an injury. Apart from Pandya, India have all other strong names for the Final, while Rinku Singh joined the playing XI in the absence of Pandya. Meanwhile, Pakistan have named their usual strong side for the tournament Final. 

The former Indian head coach, Ravi Shastri, has lauded the young Indian star batter and the captain of the longest format, Shubman Gill, for his incredible run of batting during the recently concluded five-match Test series in England, which the visitors went on to draw 2-2.

Shubman Gill finished 754 runs in the 10 innings at an average of 75.40 and a strike rate of 65.56 with the help of four centuries at the best score of 269 runs during the second encounter at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The right-handed batter was under immense pressure after landing in the country.

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“No question, Shubman Gill. He’ll be around for a long, long time because we’ve seen what kind of series he’s had here. I think he’s only 25 years of age, and as you know, with this exposure, he’ll get even better. He’s right up there. He’ll be up there. He’s composed. He’s very regal. The way he bats, he’s very easy on the eye, very fluent and can play the long innings.” Ravi Shastri commented on Sky Sports Cricket.

Watch: Ravi Shastri labels this player as 'rising star' for India

Shubman had a career Test average of around 35 before the start of the trip. Now, he has smashed an overall 2647 runs in 69 innings at an average of 41.35 and a strike rate of 61.42, with the help of nine centuries and seven half-centuries at the best score of 269, which was followed by 150+ in the second innings of the Edgbaston fixture.

"The way he bats, he's very easy on the eye" ✨

Ravi Shastri believes Shubman Gill will be 'around for a long time' 🤩 pic.twitter.com/WuYN8B5R3g

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 14, 2025

When Gill came onto the scene, he was compared to Virat Kohli’s skills with the bat. Those are huge shoes to fill in for the Punjab-born, who, however, was decent in his first Test series as captain in making some vital decisions to change the momentum of the game.

Now, the reports have claimed that the Gujarat Titans’ captain could qualify to feature in the Asia Cup 2025 squad for the defending champions. If he gets into the side, then he might end up shouldering the responsibility of the vice-captaincy in the national side.

After MS Dhoni decided to hang up his shoes at the end of the Boxing Day Test during the BGT 2014-15, Virat Kohli became the new Test captain as Ravi Shastri was appointed as the new head coach. That was the biggest change in Indian cricket, as the head coach felt that Kohli’s ability to dominate with the bat and leadership skills were amazing.

Kohli is the fourth leading run-getter in Tests as captain with 5864 runs in 113 innings at an average of 54.80 with the help of 20 centuries and 18 half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 254 runs. Ravi Shastri revealed that he had no doubt of Kohli leading the red-ball charge and earning success.

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“It was great. I mean, he was the one man I identified who would lead the team. And I wanted him to lead the team. You know, once I took over the job and once Dhoni had finished, he did a magnificent job. I think, first, his skills as a batsman, his ability to dominate, you know, be in the face, play hard, but play fair, and wanting to win and take the game forward.” The former Indian head coach expressed on Sky Sports Cricket.

Watch: Ravi Shatri shares his thoughts on coaching period under Virat Kohli’s captaincy

The Delhi batter carried the same form even in the ODIs. As captain, he was India’s second leading run-getter in ODIs with 5449 runs in 91 innings at an average of over 72 with 27 fifties and 21 centuries at the best score of unbeaten 160 runs against the Proteas.

"He did a magnificent job" 🙌

Ravi Shastri on what it was like to be India coach whilst Virat Kohli was captain 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/b142Hmgg5i

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 14, 2025

“I would say Kohli, the best batsman in his pomp, was unbelievable because in those five years when India were number one in the red-ball format, some of the innings he played in Australia, South Africa, England, across formats were unreal.” Shastri highlighted in the same video.

Under Kohli, India won their three-match Test series in Sri Lanka before earning the first red-ball series victory in Australia during the 2018-19 trip. They also took the lead of 2-1 under his captaincy during their tour to England in 2021 before it was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Manchester.

The incident happened just after Akash Deep dismissed the England left-handed opening batter, Ben Duckett, who, before that, was smashing the Bengal pacer all around the park. A few balls ago, the southpaw nailed the bowler for a huge six before getting an outside edge into the hands of the wicket-keeper, as Deep walked up to the batter and put his arm around the batter's shoulder.

The umpires had a word with the bowler after that, while KL Rahul tried to pull him off the moment. The former England captain, Michael Atherton, didn’t enjoy the incident at all. He questions whether a bowler would have thought of doing the same with a feisty batter, and it was excellent from Ben to fully avoid any heat in that moment.

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‘Can you imagine doing that to Viv Richards? Or anyone? I would have hated that, having put an arm around me after dismissing me. Stay out of my way. This is a serious point. I understand it was in good nature, and I love giving players maximum leeway on the field.’ Atherton expressed on Sky Sports Cricket.

Watch: Former players react to incident between Akash Deep and Ben Duckett during ENG vs IND 5th Test

‘Because it’s an emotional and passionate game, I like to see them getting stuck in and don’t love to see the match referees always. But it’s a non-contract spot. Something like that will end in a problem. So this is something that the match referee had to stamp out.’ Atherton felt that the match referee would need to discuss with the pacer.

"If Athers had put his hand around me getting me out, I would've said 'Get out of the way!'" 😅

Ravi Shastri and Michael Atherton share their thoughts on the incident between Ben Duckett and Akash Deep 💭 pic.twitter.com/UyQzCX6uJL

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 2, 2025

Even Ravi Shastri, the former Indian coach, supported the view and felt that it would have gone in an ugly way had Ben not handled the situation in the right way.

‘No physical contract. What it may lead to is that Duckett might have been thinking something else at that moment in time. Another player with the feisty character wouldn’t have liked it and could have done something that he would have regretted. Just because it has been seen by millions, the match referee would be forced to take action because of the rules.’ Shastri observed.

Days changed, venues changed, atmosphere changed, playing conditions and line-up kept varying along with the score-line of the five-match Test series between England and India. But the visiting captain Shubman Gill’s fortune with the toss was stuck at one place, as he lost his fifth and all tosses of the series at the Kennington Oval in South London.

That was the 15th instance of India losing the toss across the three formats in international cricket. The only other instance of a captain losing all the tosses in a Test series during the 21st century was when Virat Kohli led them during the 2018 trip in England. Ravi Shastri, the toss presenter for the fifth game, made a hilarious comment on the incident.

See Also: Chris Woakes ruled out of ENG vs IND 5th Test? England camp shows concern at Oval

‘Just a thought on the toss again, you know, I had a line ready. Whoever wins or loses, whoever wins the toss, I had a line ready that the Law of Averages has to catch up. Shubman Gill, in four Test matches, had lost all four. Ollie Pope, in four Test matches, had lost all four but won three Test matches. That’s where Gill came from and said, We hope to win the Test match even if I lose the toss.’ He revealed.

Watch: Ravi Shastri comments on Shubman Gill losing five tosses during ENG vs IND 2025 series

‘Don't mind losing the toss as long as we win the game. I was a bit confused yesterday about what to do. It was a bit overcast, but the wicket looks good. We'll look to post good runs in the first innings. Should be a good pitch for the bowlers.’ Gill, India’s captain, expressed at the toss during the fixture.

"Law of averages has to catch up" 🤣

Ravi Shastri on Shubman Gill losing yet another toss 🪙 pic.twitter.com/2UFeUzlMm2

— Sky Sports (@SkySports) July 31, 2025

He didn’t enjoy a great day either in the field after getting run out. He looked in fluent touch before getting another share of the unfortunate luck. The right-handed batter tapped Gus Atkinson under his eyes and rushed for the single, only to get slipped in the middle and saw the bowler breaking the stumps to send him back for the first time with a score of more than 20 and less than 100 in the series.

India ended with 204/6 as Karun Nair celebrated his unbeaten fine-half-century as they aim to cross the 275-run mark in the first innings.

Ravi Shastri, one of Indian cricket’s most loved commentators, has once again praised Virat Kohli. He called him the most influential player of the last decade.

In a recent video posted on Stick to Cricket, the former India head coach was asked to name the best player of the modern era. Without any delay, Shastri said, "It's a young group at the moment, but the best player, the most influential player of the last decade – Virat Kohli."

Shastri, who coached India during some of Kohli’s most successful years as Test captain, has always been a big admirer of the former captain. His latest praise adds to many good things he has said about Kohli in recent years.

In a quick question-and-answer segment, Shastri was also asked to name the current bowler he would least like to face. His answer was Jasprit Bumrah. He also gave a fun reply to a question about whether he would prefer hitting six sixes or winning a World Cup. He reminded everyone that he had done both in his career, but said the World Cup win was more special.

Also Read -OTD: India defeated Sri Lanka by miles with Shikhar Dhawan's career best total in Test

Shastri Picks His Top Five Most Influential Indian Cricketers

Earlier, Shastri was speaking on the Stick to Cricket podcast, hosted by former England cricketers Phil Tuffnell, Alastair Cook, David Lloyd, and Michael Vaughan.

On the podcast, Shastri named Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli in his list of top five Indian players. Indian spin legend Bishan Singh Bedi and current pace star Jasprit Bumrah were not included.

He said, "Definitely (Sunil) Gavaskar, Kapil (Dev), Sachin (Tendulkar), and Virat (Kohli) — I am looking at the most influential players of that era. Bishan (Singh Bedi) would have been there, but MS (Dhoni) again. MS will come in. And Bumrah is still here. Bumrah is young and still has cricket left. I am talking about players who have almost finished their careers, so these will be the five."

Virat Kohli: India's All-Format Legend

Talking about Virat, he is the third-highest run-scorer in international cricket with 27,599 runs, 82 centuries, and an average of 52.27. He is India’s top all-format player. In ODIs, he has 14,181 runs with 51 centuries — the most by any batter. In Tests, he scored 9,230 runs and led India to 40 wins in 68 matches. In T20Is, he is the third-highest run-getter with 4,188 runs.

Virat has won the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2013 and 2025 Champions Trophy, and the 2024 T20 World Cup. He also led India to three WTC maces and is known for shining in big matches.