Kohli, 36, came in for heavy criticism in the run-up to the Perth Test after scoring only 192 runs in his previous 10 innings and posting an average of 15.50 in India's three home test defeats by New Zealand.
Overcoming his recent lean patch in the longest format, Virat Kohli blazed his 30th Test ton and his first in Australia since 2018 on Day 3 of the opening Border-Gavaskar series Test in Perth.
India head into the first of five Tests against Australia on Friday in Perth on the back of their first home series loss in 12 years.
India won 2-1 against Australia on both of their last two Test tours, but suffered a 3-0 whitewash at home to New Zealand last month.
Shastri was referring to Kohli’s exceptional performances in Australia thus far - including a fighting Test ton in Adelaide in his first-ever Test tour in 2011/12, a staggering 692 runs at 86.50 from his four Tests during his second visit in 2014 and captaining India to their first-ever series win in the country in 2018/19 during which he scored an exceptional 123 in Perth.
India coach Gautam Gambhir on Monday backed "incredibly tough men" Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to prove their critics wrong and find form in Australia.
With Australia looming large, the form of 37-year-old Rohit and superstar batsman Kohli, 35, is of particular concern to Indian cricket fans.
Jadeja told reporters that "everything happened in 10 minutes", and the team "did not get time to react".
Through three World Cup titles, two World Test Championship (WTC) finals, and a 12-year Test series winning streak on home soil, Kohli and Sharma, often together, have been integral to every major Indian success of the last 17 years.
Shortly after India's second T20 World Cup triumph, an emotional Rohit lay on the ground before walking towards the centre and tasting the soil of the Kensington Oval pitch.
India's Virat Kohli quit T20 Internationals on Saturday shortly after helping his team beat South Africa in the World Cup final.
Former captain Kohli, 35, has now scored just 75 runs in seven innings this tournament at an average of 10.71.
India captain Rohit Sharma admitted Wednesday his team is "always under pressure" to end a world title drought which has now stretched to over a decade.
From historic firsts to incredible chases, the India-Pakistan rivalry lived up to its name over the last five occasions at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
All eyes may be on Virat Kohli, who joined up with the squad late last week and scored one run as he opened the batting against Ireland on Wednesday. But Rohit told a press conference that he is expecting all of his players to make a contribution on Sunday as they seek to continue their winning start to the tournament.
Virat Kohli's 2022 masterclass against Pakistan has been voted the ICC Men's T20 World Cup FanCraze Greatest Moment.
Rohit, 37, and Kohli, 35, have long been the twin torchbearers for the hopes of their cricket-mad nation, which last saw a major title triumph in the 2013 Champions Trophy.
Jacks' England career currently consists of a mere two Tests, seven one-day internationals and 12 T20Is.
Virat Kohli is likely to miss India’s warm-up match against Bangladesh ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024. According to reports, Virat Kohli did not travel with the first batch of players to the United States for the upcoming ICC tournament.
