"He should have continued for longer" - Sanjay Bangar on Virat Kohli's Test captaincy
Former India cricketer and batting coach Sanjay Bangar believes Virat Kohli should not have stepped down as India's Test captain. He opined that the ace batter needed to be at the helm of the red-ball side for a longer period.
Kohli was appointed as India's Test captain during the side's Australia tour in 2014 after MS Dhoni retired from the format following the third Test of the series. He achieved tremendous success in the role, establishing himself as the most successful Indian captain in the format.
The Men in Blue clinched 40 wins out of 68 matches under Kohli's captaincy. Bangar, who had worked closely with the right-handed batter, recently spoke about the player's decision to relinquish captaincy.
Speaking on The Rao Podcast, Bangar said:
"I personally feel that he should have continued for longer as a Test captain because he probably captained India in 65 Test matches, and one of the things I feel is that he could have probably continued as a Test captain for a longer period."
Virat Kohli stepped down as India's Test captain in January 2022. His announcement came just a day after the side lost 2-1 to South Africa in an away series.
"Was driven with the fact that India had to improve their performances overseas" - Sanjay Bangar on Virat Kohli
During the aforementioned podcast, Sanjay Bangar stated that Virat Kohli's aim was to improve India's record in overseas Tests. He reckoned that the side were usually firm favourites in the home series.
Bangar said:
"Virat was driven with the fact that India had to improve their performances overseas. Because in India we knew that whether anybody is there or not, with all due respect to the opposition, if you come to India, India is winning 75 per cent of the time. You'll really have to play poorly to lose in India."
The cricketer-turned-coach pointed out that Kohli led from the front, working hard on his fitness and being the top performer with the bat during his captaincy stint, adding:
"He himself achieved enormous levels of fitness and challenged his physical limits to the hilt. He worked the hardest. I think he scored the maximum runs during that period as a captain and he had that drive."
It is worth mentioning that India won 15 away Tests during Kohli's tenure. He is also the first Indian skipper to win a Test series on Australian soil.