Former England captain Alastair Cook has lauded Virat Kohli’s captaincy tenure as he opined that Kohli has had a huge influence on the Indian team to make them the top test team of the world.
One day after India’s Test series got over against South Africa, Virat Kohli left everyone in disbelief as he decided to step down from Test captaincy. In his tenure which last more than 7 years, Virat Kohli captained India in 68 test matches as India won 40 of those matches and lost 17 while 11 matches ended in a draw.
“It has been 7 years of hard work, toil, and relentless perseverance every day 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 is now. There have been many ups and also some downs along the journey: but never had there been a lack of effort or a lack of belief,” Kohli released a statement on Twitter.
Alastair Cook agreed with Virat’s statement that the job needs lots of patience and hard work. Writing in his column for The Times, Alastair Cook applauded Kohli’s efforts as captain as he believes that his energy and enthusiasm rubbed to the whole team. Kohli took India to no.1 position in ICC ranking.
Virat Kohli captained India in 68 Test matches
“Kohli, 33, was right: being a Test captain does demand hard work and perseverance; and, yes, he has taken his team in the right direction. India may have lost the World Test Championship final in June but they are ranked No. 1 and so much of that is down to the hard edge he instilled. If ever a team was shaped in the mould of their captain, it is this India side,” Cook wrote.
Coincidentally Cook’s last assignment as England test captain was against India led by Virat Kohli when England faced a 0-4 thrashing in India in 2016. Last year again India beat England by 3-1 at home and in the same year they travelled to England in which India is currently leading by 2-1 as the remaining one test will be played this year in July.
Also, read Alastair Cook Weighs In On Joe Root’s Future As England’s Test Captain