"This is going to be my last leg in the IPL as captain of RCB." This was coming, since the IPL workload is much greater as compared to T20 Internationals.
"Bottom line - there can't be two white-ball captains", said Sourav Ganguly, justifying Rohit's ascent to ODI captaincy when Kohli still wanted to continue as leader. Fair enough, makes sense to have a clear distinction between white-ball and red-ball captaincy.
I thought the above events may finally allow Kohli to become the world-beating Test captain we all knew he was going to be and make India a long-format dominator across the globe. Instead.......he tweeted, "Everything has to come to a halt at some stage and for me as Test captain of India, it's now." It was beyond logic and clearly in the realm of emotion. India had not lost a captain, we lost a leader, a leader who always led the way and backed his players no matter what. It wasn't a shock, it was disbelief. He who never bogged down to the opposition and made them doubt themselves in their own backyard, decided it was time to focus on what he did best - letting his bat do the talking.
The first match as India's Test Captain truly encompassed what Kohli meant to me. Courage, leadership and self-belief. For millennials who had witnessed series losses in foreign conditions one after the another, the sight of India trying to hunt down 364 on a day five Adelaide pitch was a nice change of pace. Of course, the magnitude of the event didn't sunk in then, but today whenever I recall that innings, I cannot help but feel proud for the way India fought. For me personally, that cricket series made me believe that we could win overseas Test matches. A statement was made, Kohli's team was there to win, and they were willing to risk a loss in the pursuit of victory.
Cut to 2022, he ended up as India's most successful captain in Test cricket and could have possibly become the best in the world had he continued. No Indian captain has led the team in so many Tests. No Indian captain has recorded as many wins - home and away. No Indian captain has had a better win-loss record. Also, his record in both the limited-overs formats is commendable, without the presence of an ICC trophy. Unlike Dhoni and Rohit, Kohli is not a strategist, he is a leader. That is why he found himself most at home while captaining the Test side, with relatively lesser success in the shorter formats.
Apart from his leadership, what stood out for me during Kohli's captaincy tenure was his improved batting, unlike many for whom captaincy had a negative impact on their primary skill. As captain, he had an average of 54.80 in Test matches. In ODIs, the number stands at 72.65. While in T20Is the number dropped to 47.57 as compared to 55.67 when not captaining, that is more down to the unpredictability of the format rather than the player's ability. Captaincy brought out the best in Kohli, the cricketer, and he brought out the best in people while at the helm of things. Ishant, Shami and Umesh will agree.
It has been reiterated over the years that Kohli is a fast bowler's captain. He loved pace and gave the Indian cricket team its finest seam attack ever. Opposition teams could now no longer produce green tops and get away with Test victories. Our bowling attack was potent enough to give them a test of their own medicine. Long gone are the days when Indian bowlers used to toil under the heating sun without much success, waiting for the other team to declare, and then try to play time rather than the match. Kohli's team was there to win the game of cricket. While Ishant, Shami and Umesh had been around before he became captain, their best bowling came under him as their strike rates and averages went down considerably. Speaking of Kohli in one of Cricbuzz's shows, Shami said, "Virat has always been supportive of his fast bowlers while also giving us freedom on the ground. He only jumps in when our plans fail, otherwise we're free as a bowling unit to do as we please. He has never put any undue pressure on any of us. Such freedom has led to this bowling unit becoming much more mature. Not all international captains give you that kind of freedom." People like Bumrah, Siraj and Shardul blossomed under Kohli and today form a part of an enviable fast-bowling attack along with the other three. Also, the spinners enjoyed his captaincy tenure as Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep and Axar continued to pick up a bucket load of wickets at home and playing second-fiddle as the pacers took over overseas. In the batting department, Rohit, KL Rahul and Jadeja found their mojo in Test cricket under Kohli who continued to back them and instilled confidence in them despite rocky starts to their careers.
When Kohli did not pick Ashwin during the 2021 India Tour of England, a lot of eyebrows were raised as he had been in scintillating form leading up to the series. But Kohli was convinced that Jadeja's batting would be more valuable than Ashwin's bowling in the seam-friendly conditions. He repaid the faith scoring 56, 40, and 30 respectively at Nottingham, Lord's and Leeds. Another such decision by Kohli was to play five bowlers consistently with the aim of bowling teams out in order to win matches. While India always had the luxury of playing spin-bowling all-rounders at home to lengthen the batting, it was a brave decision by Kohli to play four pacers overseas with only Shardul having any sort of ability with the bat. In the famous Lord's Test of 2021, India's no. 8-11 were four tailenders (Ishant, Shami, Bumrah and Siraj) following Jadeja at 7. Despite Shardul being injured, Kohli didn't back away from his 4-1 combination and that proved to be a master stroke in the end as India went on to bowl England out under 52 overs to win the cricket match on the fifth day. Kohli was also instrumental in Rohit's Bradmanesque return to Test cricket in 2019 as he backed him as a Test-match opener and now Rohit is arguably India's best red-ball batter. That is Virat Kohli for you, always having faith in his boys, sticking to his guts and leading from the front.
It is true that it has not all been rosy under Kohli. One of the biggest disappointments for all of us has been missing the World Test Championship title in 2021. India missed a trick at Southampton by playing two spinners in conditions aiding seam and swing, particularly with all the rain forecast. There was also the infamous 36 all-out in Adelaide before Kohli left the tour for the birth of his first child and then Ajinkya Rahane led a battered and bruised Indian side to a series victory. While Rahane had been brilliant in stepping in for Kohli, it was Kohli's team that had conquered Australia, not once but twice. The most recent setback in Kohli's captaincy career was the tour to South Africa which we lost 1-2 because of a misfiring middle-order and a better overall performance by the South African cricketers. Also, the absence of an ICC trophy in the cabinet cannot be overlooked.
With 40 wins in 68 Test matches, Kohli already is India's most successful Test captain. 97 wins in 145 white-ball matches is also a formidable record, without any major championship success. But the true reason why Kohli the captain will forever remain in our hearts is not his statistics, it is his passion and determination to make India win and standing up for his teammates in times of crisis. He was always there to accept why his team lost and never shied away from taking the blame. He was not one to point fingers. For him, the team won and lost together. Also what still stands apart is the respect and admiration he has for the people around him. He will never be the man who made match-changing decisions. Rather he will be remembered for the way he revolutionised cricket. Be it picking Karn Sharma over Ashwin for he provided a more attacking option, or playing two wrist-spinners in ODIs for middle-overs wickets, or not picking the best spinner in the world for the sake of better team balance, his decisions were questionable and not always successful, but his unwavering belief and passion, coupled with his quirky send-offs and interesting banter, made him the man to watch out for, around the world.
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