Mumbai: Virat Kohli’s tenure as white-ball captain came to an end. He may have not won an ICC trophy with India, and it has been over two years since he scored a century, but there is no doubt that Kohli has taken this team to unprecedented heights in world cricket.
Recently Kohli received support from former teammate Harbhajan Singh who praised his temperament. He also pointed out how Indian Test captain Kohli played the role of a leader and shaped this present India team. Talking about how well Kohli’s aggressive attitude on-field goes with Team India, Harbhajan admitted that it perfectly suits this team and that they need more players like him to lead this Indian team forward.
“Virat’s temperament totally suits the Indian setup. We need players like this to take the team forward and Virat Kohli did that. Earlier, when the team would go to Australia, we would think about how to save the Test series. Under Virat’s captaincy, there has been a change where we think about how do we go and win the Test series in Australia”, Singh was quoted as saying to India TV.
From winning a Test series in Australia to defeating England at home earlier this year, Kohli has transformed India into a formidable unit. The veteran off-spinner further pointed out the difference between MS Dhoni and Kohli. Harbhajan reckoned if Kohli had been as soft as Dhoni, he would not have scored so many runs in international cricket.
“And that is the change you have noticed in this Indian side. They went to Australia and beat them twice, they played well in England and I hope they beat South Africa in this series, although this South African side isn’t that great. So, Kohli has perfectly played his role as a leader. And his aggressive approach has made Virat Kohli the player he is today. If Virat Kohli was soft like MS Dhoni, I don’t think he would have scored so many runs”, he further added.
The ace spinner, who announced his retirement last Friday, recalled one of his conversations with Kohli hinting towards the latter’s Adelaide knock of 141 in 2014 against Australia where the 33-year-old had stressed India’s need to fight and win series in overseas conditions and not only to focus on to save the Test.
“I remember in one of those series, where he had scored a lot of runs, although India had lost the Test series. India had to chase some 400 runs in that match and Kohli had scored a big century. So, when he returned to the pavilion I told him that the match could have ended in a draw, but he replied that ‘there is no importance of a drawn Test, either you win or you lose and the day we learn to fight, we will learn to win and someday we will”, he concluded.
