India ended ICC Test team rankings as no.1 for five straight years under Virat Kohli.
R Ashwin praised Virat Kohli for his incredible stint as the Indian Test captain, saying that his legacy as a skipper will stand for the kind of benchmarks he has set.
After leading Team India for seven years at the helm in Tests, Virat Kohli shell shocked many when he suddenly announced his decision to step down as the Indian Test skipper through a social media post.
The right-hander took charge of the Indian Test side during the Australia tour of 2014-15. Since then he put hard yards as the skipper and took the team to new heights. It was because of his aggressive captaincy and never-give-up attitude that the Indian side is considered as the most dominant red-ball team in world cricket.
Virat Kohli tasted huge success during his 7-year stint as the Indian Test captain. The 33-year-old led India to 40 wins from 68 matches at a win percentage of 58.92%, which makes him the most successful Indian skipper.
Under his leadership, India won the Test series in Australia, West Indies, Sri Lanka and are leading the Test series 2-1 in England, with the final Test to be played later this year.
Virat Kohli, who never lost a Test series at home as skipper, left a tremendous legacy behind as under him Team India finished at the top of the Test rankings for five years in a row.
He was applauded by his teammates for his incredible stint as the Indian Test skipper, including R Ashwin, who penned down a heartfelt message for India’s most successful Test captain.
Taking to his official Twitter account, R Ashwin heaped rich praise on Virat Kohli, saying that many cricket captains will be remembered for their records but his legacy as a skipper will stand for the kind of benchmarks he has set.
“Cricket captains will always be spoken about with respect to their records and the kind of triumphs they managed, but your legacy as a captain will stand for the kind of benchmarks you have set. There will be people who will talk about wins in Australia, England, Sl etc etc,” R Ashwin Tweeted.
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R Ashwin said India's successful performances are a result of the seeds that Virat Kohli sowed and the standards he set. He remarked that the "biggest takeaway" from the 33-year-old's stint is the headaches that he has given his successor to match the benchmarks he set for Indian cricket.
"Wins are just a result and the seeds are always sown well before the harvest! The seeds you managed to sow is the kind of standard you set for yourself and hence set the expectations straight with the rest of us.
“Well done @imVkohli on the headache you have left behind for your successor and that’s my biggest takeaway from your stint as captain. “We must leave a place at such an altitude that the future can only take it higher from there on," he added.