Former Australian skipper Ian Chappell has opined that Virat Kohli took legacy of Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni forward and he was substantially able to build on it. Kohli took the Test team to new heights and had taken over the captaincy baton from MS Dhoni when the team was placed in the seventh position in the Test rankings.
Under Kohli’s leadership, India stayed at the numero uno position in the ICC Test rankings for a long interval of 42 months. Kohli led in an aggressive manner and India’s record in overseas conditions significantly improved under his tenure as a leader.
The talisman led from the front and took the bulls by its horns. India savored their maiden series win in Australia as they won by 2-1 in the 2018-19 series and it was the highest point in Kohli’s Test captaincy stint. Kohli was definitely able to leave a strong legacy behind as the team grew in confidence.
Furthermore, India’s pace battery took giant strides under Kohli’s leadership and it was one of the key reasons for India’s success in foreign conditions.
“This is a tale of two cricket captains; one very good at his job and the other a failure,” Chappell wrote in his column for ESPN Cricinfo. “There’s no doubt Kohli was an exception as captain; he didn’t curb his enthusiasm but he was still able to lead the Indian team to a higher level. With the capable assistance of vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, he lifted India to overseas success as no other captain had done,” Chappell opined.
“Kohli took the legacy of Sourav Ganguly and Dhoni and substantially built on it in seven years at the helm. His biggest disappointment as captain was the recent series loss to South Africa after India led the away series 1-0, though he didn’t captain in the middle Test of that series, in Cape Town.”
On the other hand, England suffered a drubbing of 4-0 against Australia in the Ashes. Chappell stated that Joe Root is a fine batter but he is a poor captain.
“The captaincy failure, despite having led his country more times than any other captain, is Joe Root. It doesn’t matter what Root or any other English devotee tells you, Root is a fine batter but a poor captain,” his assessment of Root was scathing.
Chappelli added that Kohli’s biggest achievement as a Test captain was instilling confidence in the team and making them hungry for success in the Test arena.
“One of Kohli’s great achievements was instilling in his team craving for Test cricket. Despite his all-encompassing success, Kohli’s major aim was to achieve victory in the Test arena and this is where his passion shone.”
Kohli led India to 40 Test wins in 68 matches while the team lost 17 matches and drew 11 games.
