I almost hate it when people go mediating player’s credibility immediately after a loss as a way of venting their emotion. Yes, India lost the test series (and ODIs) against England. But it’s not the end of the world. With 115 rating, India still sits very comfortably at #1 on the ICC test team ranking, with South Africa trailing by 9 points. England is at #4 with 105 points.
Even in ICC ODI team ranking, India is ranked at #2, trailing England by just 6 points who sits at the top.
Virat Kohli has led the test team in 40 matches. India has won 22 times, which is the second highest number of wins under a captain. (He recently overtook Sourav Ganguly’s record!) MS Dhoni, btw, is the most successful test team captain ever with 27 wins under his belt. But as it looks now, away with just 5 wins, Kohli will soon overtake Mahi.
Among the test team captains who has led the team in more than 5 matches, Kohli has the highest win percentage (55 percent).
(Courtesy: India Today)
All these numbers and we’re still debating if Kohli is a good test team captain. Seriously? Snatching victory against England, in England at that, was a difficult job. Kohli played well. Yes, when looking at his captaincy in this series, there was a lot left to be desired. Like his coordination and communication with the entire team and not just a couple of players. However, even then, Kohli was good; he performed well with this bat. It’s the entire team that failed.
That being said, do I think Rohit Sharma could be a better test team captain if he is given a chance? Hell yes. Do I think KL Rahul could a be fresh bet the management can make to lead the team (like they did with Dhoni a decade back)? Hell yes.
(Courtesy: Daily Mail)
But Kohli is a phenomenal player. And he’s an outstanding test team captain.
