Before we look at the records of Virat Kohli as the Test Captain of India, We need to discuss the impact that this great captain has left on Indian test cricket. For those who don’t know , Virat Kohli on the 15th of January, resigned as the Test Captain of the Indian cricket team and sent shockwaves all around the cricketing world, not just in India. It was unthinkable that he would take such a step because he was the undisputed best ever in test history for India.
Virat Kohli has been the test captain of India since 2014 where he first took charge of the test match against Australia in which he scored two of the finest hundreds you will see and it was clear that this was the man to take Indian cricket forward and in the 7 years , he was captain, he made India the number 1 test team in the world for 6 of the 7 years he was skipper.
Let’s look at some of the incredible records of Virat Kohli as test captain of India.
Overall Record
The overall record of Virat Kohli as the test captain is the 4th best of all time in the 140+ years history of test cricket, this shows us how remarkable of a skipper he was and how he led the team from the front. He led India in 68 test matches and won a staggering 40 out of those matches, 16 out of those 40 have come away from home and that is the most by an Indian captain in the history of test match cricket. Out of those 16, 7 off them have come in the SENA countries which is the most as well by any Indian skipper and this shows that he made this team into such a potent outfit that the Indian team won many matches as well as series overseas. And what can one say about his record at home, he won 24 test matches at home and the Indian team had never lost a home series when he was the captain and that included series against Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand etc. It can be easily said that Virat Kohli is the greatest test captain India has ever seen.
Making India win away from home
This is one record for which all Indian cricket fans will remember Virat Kohli the most. India were always a dominant side at home but very rarely won any test matches in away conditions especially the SEBA nations where the nature of the pitch used to beat the Indian team before the start of the match. To counter this, Virat Kohli started investing in genuine fast bowlers and year upon year made India have the best pace attack in the world. Jasprit Bumrah has been a revelation and Ishant Sharma and Mohammad Shami got a new lease of life under Virat, he discovered Mohammad Siraj and getting inspired by them more and more fast bowlers started emerging from India. Thanks to this , the overseas series would always be competitive and the cycle started in 2018 with South Africa where they won the Johannesburg test, then in Australia they beat the mighty Aussies in their backyard for the first time and in 2021, India scripted the greatest comeback to shock the Aussies again with a team of inexperienced players but who were willing to give their all for India and finally England was also conquered ,even though one test is left , India cannot lose that series.
The legacy of captain Virat
He is leaving behind an incredible legacy where he showed no fear of the opposition or any situation in the game and he used to give it back to anyone who came after his team. He made the team into a Ruthless outfit who were feared around the world and respected by everyone. Everyone who loves test cricket owes a debt of gratitude to Virat Kohli who has been the biggest torch bearer for the toughest format of the game and made it lively again. His legacy of making India a fast bowling nation will go a long way in making the team even more dominant in the future. And who can forget his outstanding batting during his captaincy, he has scored 20 test centuries as captain only behind Graeme Smith from South Africa who has 25 as captain.
Also Read | Sachin Tendulkar vs Virat Kohli Stats
Looking forward
The hope from all Indian cricket fans is that once Virat Kohli is relieved from the duties of captaincy, he focuses on his batting and we see the Virat Kohli of old where he used to smash centuries for fun and his batting shows why he is the best in the world and give lots of joy back to the fans . Now we have to look for a new captain as well and Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul seen to be the frontrunners but Rishabh Pant should not be counted out as a dark horse because he is a bona fide superstar and the added responsibility of captaincy will only make him become a better batter than he already is but we think the think tank should go for Rohit or KL Rahul.
Also Read: Best innings of Virat Kohli
