The current head coach of the Indian team has praised the former captain of the national side in the longest format, Virat Kohli, for the way the latter has transformed the side since handed over the leadership duties in 2015 after MS Dhoni decided to call time from the five-day format at the end of the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
The first experience for Virat Kohli in the Test matches as the leader came during the first game in Adelaide, which Dhoni missed due to a thumb injury. India was on the brink of chasing a huge total at the end of the game.
The Ranchi-born fully announced his end in the red-ball format during the Melbourne Test, as Kohli led India in Sydney before getting the full captaincy during their one-off Test against Bangladesh. A few months later, he went on to win a historic red-ball series in Sri Lanka.
“How do we become household names?”- Virat Kohli
At the age of 25, there was so much pressure on the shoulders of Virat Kohli, who had just four years of experience in that format of the game. India never had many issues winning games at home, but their real test used to be in overseas, as they were hammered by the opposition on most occasions.
Also Read: ICC Reveals Men’s And Women’s Player Of The Month Award For August 2024
Over the seven years in the role, he finished as the most successful captain of the Indian team in that format with 40 victories, among which the history was made during their maiden red-ball series win in Australia during the 2018/19 summer, the first in the country’s history. They also gained the Test mace for five consecutive years.
The Delhi-born reflected on the younger days when Dhoni left the Test side on his shoulders, as his first aim was to make them a household name around the globe.
“The thing that excited me about Test cricket and when I was coming up as captain was the challenge. We were transitioning when you guys had made way for a youngster team, and Mahi bhai left Test captaincy.” Virat Kohli expressed, during the light conversation with Gautam Gambhir, arranged by the BCCI. “I was 25, so for me, it was like ‘I am here with a bunch of 24-25 year-old guys. How do we become household names?‘ We sat down and thought, ‘I need to plan this out. This can’t happen by chance.”
The veteran displayed how he wanted to have more fast bowlers in the side. For that reason, they needed batters who could bat long and provide enough rest to the bowlers.
“When I started thinking from the point of view where Indian cricket has to be in 7 years, the solutions came. We need a group of fast bowlers. We need batters who can bat long. We need to give ownership to five batters and a keeper to get us 350-400.” Virat Kohli stated. “We can’t have a seventh option. I remember the challenge excited me. I didn’t feel like ‘Oh my god! I don’t want any part in this. And that’s when I was like I am all in.
One of the reasons behind the growth of India’s fast bowling attack comprising of Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammad Siraj was the 35-year-old and their former bowling coach Bharat Arun.
“I can understand what you might have gone through. A 24-25 year-old boy taking up Test captaincy, and then what you did brilliantly was that you had a really strong bowling unit. Test matches are won by taking 20 wickets.” Gautam Gambhir replied.
“Credit has to go to you because as a batter, it is very easy to have a strong 6-7 batters putting runs on the board but, the way you identified, and more importantly, the attitude which you brought on the field from fast bowlers.” The former left-handed opening batter of the national side concluded.