Former India openerGautam Gambhirsaid that the Indian captainVirat Kohli‘s fearless attitude and mindset to go for Test victories even on foreign conditions separates him from other Indian captains MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. Kohli on Sunday led India to a massive victory over South Africa by an innings and 137 runs. This was India’s 11 th straight series win at home ,which is a world record, bettering that of Australia’s (10). Out of those 11 series wins at home, 9 came under Kohli’s leadership. Virat Kohli is yet to lose a Test series at home, since taking over as India captain from MS Dhoni in 2014 – 15.
Also Read:Ganguly identifies immediate challenges ahead of beginning of BCCI’s new era
Gambhir attributed Kohli’s success to his lack of fear. Gambhir termed that as Kohli’s biggest plus. “If you are scared of losing, you will never win and probably that’s the biggest plus he has, he isn’t scared of losing,” Gambhir said to official broadcasters Star Sports after the second Test match at Pune.
Also Read:India take massive 140 – point lead in World Test Championship
Since Kohli took over the Test captaincy in 2014, India have lost only two series. One was in their 2017 / 18 tour of South Africa, while the other came in England in 2018. This year, they have won series in Australia and the West Indies.
ALSO WATCH | Gautam Gambhir picks Rohit Sharma over Virat Kohli as better IPL captain
This was Kohli’s 13 th series victory as captain overall, which is the most by an Indian captain. He went past MS Dhoni’s tally of 12 series wins.
“We talk about Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni, but what Virat has created, India has started winning overseas as well,” said Gambhir.
Video:2 one-handed blinders, 96 .9% success rate – Why Saha is the best ‘keeper
“He’s taken that risk, which a lot of other captains have not been able to take. The others always wanted an extra batter so that he they don’t lose the test match. Whereas, Virat is the only captain who has gone abroad and played with five bowlers, with Hardik Pandya being an all-rounder.
Gambhir gave the example of the last Test match in India’s tour of South Africa which the former won on a treacherous pitch at the Wanderers. “There was Hardik Pandya and four other fast bowlers. He has taken that gamble and he has succeeded, ”he said.
First Published: Oct 13, 2019 18: 15 IST
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings