Kohli the captain keeps pace with Kohli the player

In the avid cricket fandom world, there has always been a question mark over Virat Kohli’s captaincy. Till recently, he has had guidance and help from MS Dhoni in one-day internationals and T20s. Few have credited Kohli for being open-minded and pragmatic to accept such guidance. The willingness to let Dhoni adjust fields etc. is good captaincy in itself. When it comes to tests, however, Kohli has been his own man for a while now.

Here are five factors which have contributed to making Kohli, India’s most successful captain in Test cricket:

History is proof that bowlers, especially fast bowlers, make test-winning teams. Taking 20 wickets is essential and that is where former Indian captains struggled. Neither Saurav Ganguly nor MS Dhoni enjoyed the kind of fast bowling firepower which is at Kohli’s disposal. Jasprit Bumrah has graduated from being a T20 specialist to a fearsome test bowler. Along with Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma and Bhuveneshwar Kumar, he forms a pace pack which is second to none. Kohli’s aggressive captaincy has also seen India go into tests with five specialist bowlers regularly, something which was uncommon earlier.

Records show that Kohli didn’t play the same starting eleven for his first 40 odd games as captain. Kohli has never been shy to chop and change. A deep bench strength allows the Indian captain to give rest to his bowlers in the age of constant cricket. It takes conviction to drop a bowler like Ravichandran Ashwin, who has a terrific record in Tests, from the playing eleven.

Kohli clinched his 12th overseas Test victory in the first test against West Indies in a total of 26 matches he has played as the captain. Now his tally is 13 overseas wins, nine losses and five draws. Ganguly, on the other hand, took 28 Test matches to guide India to its 11th Test victory away from home. An argument in favour of Ganguly, however, can be that the Australian, South African and Sri Lankan teams in his era were much more dominant/competitive.

That Kohli is a fitness enthusiast is well known. He compares his fitness to top-class world athletes like Novak Djokovic and Cristiano Ronaldo and his zeal for fitness has also inspired the team to up their game.

A byproduct of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is the exposure to international talents and starts. Indian players have now shared dressing rooms with some of the world’s best players, who are match-winners for their respective teams. The exposure also translates to knowing the strengths and weaknesses of these counterparts and it must be helpful in international matches.