“I want to see India dominate for at least 5 or 6 years” - When Virat Kohli set priorities straight after succeeding MS Dhoni as Test captain
Virat Kohli may go down as the greatest white-ball batter when it is all said and done, yet, he has been among the most vocal in placing Test cricket at the forefront from an individual or team perspective. One of the first examples of that came when Kohli took over as India's permanent Test captain in 2015.
Kohli impressed in his first game as Test captain in MS Dhoni's absence in the opener of the 2014/14 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was subsequently made the full-time skipper after Dhoni announced his retirement from the format at the end of the third Test.
While Kohli led the side to a draw in the fourth Australia Test at Sydney, his first full-time assignment was the one-off Test in Bangladesh in June 2015.
Ahead of the contest, the now 35-year-old was hellbent on India dominating Test cricket over the next several years and said as quoted by The Cricket Monthly:
"I strongly want to see the Indian team dominate for at least five or six years. We certainly have the talent. We certainly have the ability. All that it will take is how you manage that and keep them together. I want to create strong bonds. I want to create strong friendships in this unit."
He added:
"We live 250-280 days a year together so I want to create such an atmosphere where in the next ten years watching it from outside you would get to know this team is a united team. This team is a strongly knit unit. They want to play for each other. They don't want to play for themselves. That is my vision."
Unfortuntaly for Kohli and Team India, the Bangladesh Test was marred by rain and ended in a dull draw.
Despite the bravado, Kohli's stint as Test captain started poorly as India lost the opening Test of the following series in Sri Lanka. However, they rebounded with back-to-back wins to complete a 2-1 series win and Kohli's era was well and truly underway.
Virat Kohli remains India's most successful Test captain
Virat Kohli remains India's most successful Test captain with 40 wins in 68 games at a remarkable winning percentage of almost 59.
The 35-year-old became the first-ever Indian captain to led the side to glory in a Test series in Australia in 2018/19. Team India dominated at home, winning all their home series under Kohli during his stint from 2015 to early 2022.
He also led India to a 2-1 series in England in 2021 before the final Test was postponed to the following year when Kohli was not the captain. England won the series-leveling Test at Edgbaston.
Under Kohli, India also qualified to the final of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) in 2021.
The champion cricketer was also at his best with the bat during his captaincy, averaging almost 55 with 20 centuries.