Former Australia cricketer Ian Chappell feels that one of Virat Kohli’s great achievements was to instill the craving for Test cricket in the Indian team. Kohli had resigned as the Test captain of Team India after the Test series loss to South Africa earlier this month. The 33-year-old finished as India’s most successful Test captain in 2018-19 with a historic Test series win over Australia and a powerpacked show on the tour of England last year.
Chappell praised Kohli’s leadership and claimed that no Indian captain has tasted success in overseas conditions like him.
“There is no doubt that as captain, Kohli was an exception; He did not curb his enthusiasm but still he was able to take the Indian team to a higher level. With able assistance from vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, he led India to overseas success like no other captain had done,” Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo.
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Kohli took over the captaincy charge from Mahendra Singh Dhoni when India were ranked 7th in the ICC Test rankings, while he left with the Asian giants topping the charts.
Chappell said that the former India captain led India with gusto as he instilled in the team the craze for red-ball cricket.
“One of Kohli’s great achievements was the craving for Test cricket in his team. Despite his massive success, Kohli’s prime objective was to win the Test arena and this is where his passion really shined,” Chappell wrote.
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The great India cricketer lauded Kohli for the development of Rishabh Pant and his support for the wicket-keeper batsman was a master stroke.
“There is no doubt that Kohli gave a tough fight to his men, but it is also clear that he enjoyed the competition and wanted success. Kohli has many personal achievements in his resume, none greater than Rishabh Pant’s growth as a wicketkeeper and batsman. When it came to selection, Kohli went his own way and some of his decisions in this area were a bit questionable but there is no doubt that his support from Pant was a master stroke,” Chappell said.
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