Virat Kohli previously said that his real delight in cricket comes from leading the Indian team, especially when wearing the national whites, rather than from setting personal records, according to cricketer-turned-commentator Dinesh Karthik. Although many consider him a famous batter of the format, Kohli, who retired from Test cricket in May 2025, claimed that leading India in red-ball cricket was the most memorable period of his career.
Karthik pointed out that Shubman Gill, the current captain, shares same opinion. He commended the 25-year-old for having a mature and selfless leadership approach by putting the team’s success before of personal goals.
“Michael Atherton, you mentioned Virat Kohli.” This conversation concerning captaincy came up when I met him a few days ago.
“People think I’m a great Test cricketer,” he remarked. In an interview with other commentators on Sky Sports, Karthik stated, “I loved my Test batting, which I did, but the truth is that getting my captaincy was the best thing to happen in my life.”
Since replacing Rohit Sharma as captain, Gill has fully adopted a selfless leadership style. In addition to leading India to a decisive 336-run victory at Edgbaston to tie the series, he also made a powerful batting contribution. With two hundreds and a double hundred, Gill has scored 585 runs at an incredible average of 146.25 over two matches, including 430 in the Edgbaston Test alone.
The reason I say this is because Shubman Gill used the same line. “I used to bat differently,” he added. But now that I’m captain, I almost feel like this is what my team needs when I bat instead of wanting to accomplish something on my own as a batter, which made me think, “Wow,” Karthik added.
Gill’s journey as captain is going smoothly, and after his fantastic performance at Edgbaston, comparisons to Kohli have gotten more intense. In the same Test, Gill became the first player to hit a double century and a 150. Karthik emphasised Gill’s maturity and willingness to modify his batting approach to fit the demands of the team, qualities that are strikingly similar to those Kohli displayed while serving as captain.
Now, this is something that the cricket community needs to pay attention to because this Nan has the skill, the technique, and the appetite. However, he now also has the attitude that says, “I am a captain.” I’m going to take the lead and lead from the front. And in the most recent Test match, we witnessed that. There will undoubtedly be many more Test matches for us to see him play in. However, it appears like he is headed in the correct direction,” Karthik said.
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