"Your legacy as a captain will stand for the kind of benchmarks you have set" - Ravichandran Ashwin on Virat Kohli's stint as Test captain
Team India spinner Ravindrachandran Ashwin has paid a heartfelt tribute to the departing Test captain Virat Kohli, saying his legacy will continue by the benchmarks he has set.
A day after India's Test series defeat against South Africa, Kohli resigned as Test captain. He stepped down as India's most successful Test captain with 40 wins in 68 Tests, and is only behind Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh on the all-time list.
Ashwin believes Kohli leaves big shoes to fill which will be a good headache for the next captain. In a series of tweets, Ravichandran Ashwin wrote:
"Cricket captains will always be spoken about with respect to their records and the kind of triumphs they managed, but your legacy as a captain will stand for the kind of benchmarks you have set. There will be people who will talk about wins in Australia, England , Sl etc etc."
Cricket captains will always be spoken about with respect to their records and the kind of triumphs they managed, but your legacy as a captain will stand for the kind of benchmarks you have set. There will be people who will talk about wins in Australia, England , Sl etc etc
He added:
"Wins are just a result and the seeds are always sown well before the harvest! The seeds you managed to sow is the kind of standard you set for yourself and hence set the expectations straight with the rest of us. Well done @imVkohli on the headache you have left behind for your successor and that’s my biggest takeaway from your stint as captain. We must leave a place at such an altitude that the future can only take it higher from there on."
Wins are just a result and the seeds are always sown well before the harvest! The seeds you managed to sow is the kind of standard you set for yourself and hence set the expectations straight with the rest of us. Well done @imVkohli on the headache you
have left behind for your successor and that’s my biggest takeaway from your stint as captain. “We must leave a place at such an altitude that the future can only take it higher from there on “ 👏👏👏 #Virat #CricketTwitter
Since taking over the baton from MS Dhoni in 2014, Virat Kohli has taken Indian cricket to greater heights. From being at the pinnacle of the ICC Test Rankings to winning two back-to-back series in Australia to winning Test matches in England and South Africa, Kohli's India have done it all.
What Virat Kohli said while resigning as Test captain
🇮🇳 https://t.co/huBL6zZ7fZ
Kohli took to social media to announce his decision to relinquish leadership duties in Test cricket. Taking to Twitter, the 33-year-old wrote:
"It's been 7 years of hard work, toil and relentless perseverance everyday to take the team in the right direction. I've done the job with absolute honesty and left nothing out there. Everything has to come to a halt at some stage and for me as Test captain of India, it's now."
Virat Kohli also thanked former head coach Ravi Shastri and former captain MS Dhoni for showing trust in him.
"To Ravi Bhai and the support group who were the engine behind this vehicle that moved us upwards in Test Cricket consistently, you all have played a massive role in bringing this vision to life. Lastly, a big thank you to MS Dhoni who believed in me as a Captain and found me to be an able individual who could take Indian Cricket forward," Kohli added.
Virat Kohli will be next seen in action during the three-match ODI series against South Africa, starting January 19 in Paarl.