‘He continued what Ganguly and Dhoni started’ – Ian Chappell hails captain Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
Ian Chappell has appreciated Virat Kohli for his phenomenal achievements and contribution as India’s captain. The former Australian player also said that Kohli continued the work that Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni started before him.
Kohli stepped down as India’s T20 captain after the ICC T20 World Cup last year to manage his workload. Later BCCI announced Rohit Sharma as the ODI captain for the series against South Africa, which led to a lot of controversies. And finally, Kohli gave up the Test captaincy after a series loss against South Africa.
In his column for ESPNcricinfo, Ian Chappell wrote, “There’s no doubt Kohli was an exception as captain; he didn’t curb his enthusiasm, but he was still able to lead the Indian team to a higher level. With the capable assistance of vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, he lifted India to overseas success like no other captain had done.”
Speaking of the legacy that Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni left, the 78-year old said, “Kohli took the legacy of Sourav Ganguly and Dhoni and substantially built on it in seven years at the helm. His biggest disappointment as captain was the recent series loss to South Africa after India led the away series 1-0, though he didn’t captain in the middle Test of that series, in Johannesburg.”
Adding to it, he said Virat created an environment in the team that craved Test cricket. His main aim was to be successful in Test cricket, and that’s where he had his moments to shine. His team enjoyed competing and wanted success, he explained.
Including an unbeaten run at home, Virat had 40 wins in Test Cricket out of the 68 matches that he captained. He became the captain with the most wins from India, and the fourth-highest overall.
