On May 12, Virat Kohli declared that he was retiring from red-ball cricket, the game’s longest format. Veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar also spoke about Kohli’s legacy as cricket fans and teammates honour India’s most successful Test skipper.
Since the start of his Test career in 2011, Virat Kohli has excelled.
More than just a batsman, Virat Kohli elevated India to the top spot and introduced a fresh style of leadership. Through Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has been in the same dressing room as Kohli for more than ten years, offered some untold tales. The 36-year-old’s remarkable leadership abilities and how they set him apart from others were discussed by the pacer.
“We should give Virat Kohli credit for our team’s transformation because of the way he captained in the Test format. I believe Virat’s character on the ground is the cause of that. We are all aware that he is combative, and since Test cricket is a five-day game, you need that personality somewhere. ‘We have to do something, we don’t have to just go through the motions, we have to create chances,’ Virat’s desire remarked. “I believe that everyone was influenced by Virat Kohli enthusiasm,” he remarked.
The most runs of any Indian in the format, Kohli finished with 9,230 runs in 123 Test matches, including 30 hundreds and seven double hundreds. He led India in 68 Test matches while serving as captain, winning 40 of them and claiming a win rate of about 59%. India won their first-ever Test series in Australia in 2018–19 under his captaincy, and they were ranked #1 in the ICC Test rankings for five years in a row.
Kohli’s leadership had an effect that went beyond the numbers. He elevated fitness to the fore and made India a formidable fast-bowling force. While he was captain, six Indian bowlers reached the 100-wicket milestone.
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