"The fire that he ignited in the team" - Harbhajan Singh hails Virat Kohli's captaincy with 2020/21 BGT example
Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has hailed Virat Kohli as captain for instilling the fire and belief among the players to always go for the win. Kohli has the second most wins among Indian captains with 135 in 213 games across formats.
However, it is his Test captaincy that deserves plaudits as India won 40 (most by an Indian captain) out of 68 matches under Kohli's leadership.
While the champion cricketer could not lead India to an ICC title like some of his predecessors, Harbhajan pointed to how Kohli's impact was directly seen in India's 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumph.
In an interview with Sports Yaari as quoted by TOI, he said:
"You may not have won a World Cup under Kohli's captaincy but it doesn't make him a lesser captain or lesser player. The fire that he ignited in the team, like it may be a target of 400 in the fourth innings of a Test, we'll go for the chase, we won't panic. If we go down, we do it while chasing. It takes a lot of guts and brain, which Kohli has instilled in the team."
Harbhajan also specifically mentioned how India reaped the rewards of Kohli's captaincy with their successful run-chase of 328 in the final Test of the 2020/21 Australian series in Brisbane.
"The determination to fight till the end, which Shubman (Gill) and Rishabh ( Pant) showed to win that Test in Gabba. It was because the way the team's thinking changed," he stated.
Kohli led the side in the first Test at Adelaide that India lost before leaving for the birth of his child. Yet, India completed an incredible comeback to pull off a 2-1 series win under Ajinkya Rahane.
India achieved first-ever Test series win in Australia under Virat Kohli
While India's ICC trophy cabinet may be barren under Virat Kohli, their first-ever Test series win in Australia came under him in the 2018/19 tour down under.
India won two of the first three Tests before a drawn final Test, which they dominated before rain had the final say, to complete a 2-1 series win. Kohli also captained India to a 2-1 lead in the 2021 tour of England before the Covid-19 pandemic forced the final Test to be postponed to the following year.
India also recorded a famous Test win against South Africa in Johannesburg under Kohli's captaincy in 2018.