IND vs NZ 2017: Virat Kohli is Relishing the Captaincy – Sunil Gavaskar
Jan 9, 2019 at 3:53 PM
Even the legendary Sachin Tendulkar could not handle the pressure of being the captain of the team. Arguably the best batsman in the history of the Indian cricket and the most decorated batsman of all time, Sachin’s captaincy record is like a blot on his illustrious career.
But then again Sachin is not the only a great player who failed to deliver as captain. The likes of Brian Lara, Chris Gayle, Andrew Flintoff are some of the modern day greats who could not taste success after wearing the captain’s hat.
However, another player who is set to leave his legacy on the cricket field, Virat Kohli has turned out to be an exception, as former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar rightly said the current India skipper is relishing the responsibility of being the captain. Virat has not only taken India to the top of Tests and ODIs in just a couple of years, after being handed the Test captaincy and limited-overs captaincy earlier this year, but he has also taken his game to a different level.
“It can happen, and it does happen to a lot of players that captaincy actually makes them better players. Some players under the pressure of captaincy can go down in their performances, but Virat actually is relishing the responsibility,” he told NDTV.
“He is wanting to do well for his team, and he is taking the team along with him. Because there is a common goal and they (Indian team) are trying to be the best team in the world, it’s his (Kohli) responsibility to score a 100 and put a price tag on his wicket,” he added.
The 28-year-old recently scored a brilliant hundred against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to become the second-highest century-maker in the 50-over format.
With his 31st ODI ton, he went past the legendary Ricky Ponting and is now just behind Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of staggering 49 tons. The century also helped him to become the second player after AB de Villiers to score a hundred in his 200th ODI.
Kohli is very much on the path of becoming one of the greatest ODI players of all time. Known for his ability to chase down totals in limited-overs cricket, the right-handed batsman has scored 19 hundred out of his 31 in ODIs while chasing and 12 batting first.
“In the first innings, he takes a time to get going and takes a little time to assess the situation. On the other hand, when it comes to chasing, he attacks right from the start, and once he gets going it’s very difficult to stop him, and that’s why India are very good in run-chases now,” said Gavaskar when asked to analyse Kohli’s approach while batting.