Best ever Indian team? Yes we believe that, insists defiant Kohli

LONDON: “That’s your opinion, thank you very much,” that was Virat Kohli’s retort when questions were raised on Ravi Shastri’s “best Indian team” claim after the crushing Test series loss to England.

India were beaten 1-4 in the five-match series that concluded here on Tuesday.

The result, one of the several overseas disappointments for the team, led to some uncomfortable queries on whether Kohli believed Shastri’s assertion that this was the best touring Indian side in the last 15 years.

“We have to believe that, why not? What do you think?” said Kohli to the questioning scribe, whose query was whether a tag like that put his side under pressure.

In response to an “I am not sure” from the journalist, Kohli retorted, “That’s your opinion. Thank you very much.”

Shastri’s comment, made before the fifth Test, had not gone down well with quite a few former players, who used statistics to demolish the claim, highlighting the results achieved under previous captains such as Sourav Ganguly.

The comment was bound to crop up in some way after the deflating result, which Kohli asserted is not all that hard to take as he is pleased with the team’s attitude.

The sharp response that came from Kohli is not the first from him when pointed queries come his way after disappointments.

During the tour of South Africa earlier this year, the Indian skipper, when asked about the constant chopping and changing in the team, had told a journalist to advise what he perceived to be the right combination.

Kohli had fielded 38 different teams on the trot, a trend which ended with the fourth Test against England in Southampton.