Why we should wait before branding Virat Kohli as one of the great Indian skippers
It has been more than 8 years since Kuala Lampur hosted the World Cup Under-19 finals between a Virat Kohli-led India U-19 and a Parnell-led South Africa U-19. On that day, Kohli managed his bowlers terrifically to defend a low score and showcased his adeptness at captaincy.
Today, he leads the Indian Test side and is all set to take over the reins of the ODI and T20I outfits when Dhoni calls it a day. He has had a terrific run as Test captain, winning 7 of the 14 Tests he has captained and losing just two. He has had a 3-0 sweep of South Africa at home sandwiched between series wins against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka and West Indies in West Indies.
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His average has rocketed into the mid-50s after taking on captaincy and he has scored five of his twelve hundreds as captain, including a magnificent double hundred against the West Indies recently. He averages a striking 54.61 as captain compared to his overall average of 45.06.
But can we call him the best skipper India has had yet?
Yes, he has led magnificently with an average team, showed aggression and passion as captain, and rotated his players with efficiency, but is he better than the likes of Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly and most of all MS Dhoni?
A mere look at the stats suggests that Kohli is maybe ahead of Ganguly and Dhoni at a similar stage, rated as two of the best skippers India have had, with just two losses in 14 games as captain.
Now, let us take a closer peek into the stats and rewind the clock a bit to the Ganguly-era.
Ganguly, in his first 14 games as a captain, had seven wins, like Kohli, but lost five matches during the same period. His wins included a historic triumph over Australia at home led by VVS Laxman's epic knock and Harbhajan Singh's introduction to World Cricket. He, however, lost five games during the period, albeit to some very strong teams of that era, like Australia and South Africa.
Fast forward to the significant period of Indian cricket, the Dhoni-era and we notice a radical shift in the mindset of the players and more ICC Trophies. Dhoni, in his first 14 games as Test captain had a terrific record, winning nine games and losing just two.
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He averaged 40.63 during his period as captain compared to an overall Test average of 38.09. More than the terrific start to his Test captaincy, it was Dhoni's approach to captaincy and his ability to cope with pressure that stood out.
Kohli has had a terrific introduction to captaincy with a team comprising of average players as opposed to Dhoni and Ganguly, who led legends. Yet he has enjoyed a great win percentage, including historic wins in Sri Lanka and West Indies after taking over captaincy during a difficult Australian tour.
Ironically, it was this Australian tour, where India saw a more matured Kohli and after Dhoni's mid-series retirement, he led magnificently at Adelaide in the 3rd Test, single-handedly bringing India close to a magnificent chase in spite of faltering at the end.
However, his sheer aggressive attitude and intent while chasing caught Australia off-guard. It was a pleasure watching this young guy lead.
He was everything Dhoni was not - aggressive as opposed to calm, more intent driven rather than laid back, more in the face of the opposition, yet these were the exact qualities Dhoni did not need when winning those ICC trophies.
Kohli faced severe pressure against a strong South African unit at home, but India swept the series 3-0. Although it has to be remembered that those wins came on rank turners, where South Africa were always expected to be sitting ducks. Even India, with all its history of playing spin well, struggled against the part-time spin of Dean Elgar.
His previous and next series wins also came on pitches suiting his spin bowlers and with Ashwin in prime form, Lanka and West Indies were walkovers. His real test will not come until India tour pacy surfaces in New Zealand, England, Australia and South Africa.
India are hosting the Kiwis and England in coming months and unless the visitors put in a surprise performance, India are expected to roll them over with spin.
The question therefore is, will Kohli be able to cope with the additional pressure of captaincy and be the main batsman while leading his side to a big trophy or a great series win abroad? Only time will tell. But for now, he is far from being called the best Indian skipper, with his immediate predecessor, Dhoni, setting the benchmark.
Kohli is more Ganguly-ish in approach and that may be good with the team of youngsters he has. A bullish, pushing captain can put an opposition off, as Ganguly showed many a times during his golden period. Let us hope Kohli does the same, but his time is yet to come.