When India and England face off in the pink ball third Test at the New Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad; India captain Virat Kohli has the opportunity to surpass MS Dhoni and become the most successful skipper for India in Tests at home.
At the moment, Kohli is level with MS Dhoni with 21 wins in Tests at home. Dhoni lost three and salvaged six draws, to notch up a success rate of 70%. Kohli, however, has a higher win rate of 77.8% with only two defeats and five draws from 28 matches.
Mohammad Azharuddin (13 wins, 65%), Sourav Ganguly (10 wins, 47.6%), and Sunil Gavaskar (seven wins, 24.1%) follow the duo on this elite list.
However, speaking on the eve of the Test match in a virtual press conference, Virat Kohli said that his responsibility is only to keep the team on top.
"Records as a captain mean nothing to me or any other player. It is a responsibility given to me and I’m trying to do my best. This has always been the case and will remain the same, as long as I play the game. These are fickle things which look great from outside, doesn’t matter to me as an individual," Virat Kohli said.
Kohli also spoke about his equation with Dhoni and made it clear that MS Dhoni was his skipper and both share a great camaraderie with them, so there is no comparison at all.
"MS Dhoni would have definitely played 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia," says Sarandeep Singh
"We (MS Dhoni) share a great camaraderie, and mutual respect is something you hold very dear to your heart. It is always more important than these milestones. I have a responsibility to keep Team India on top, and the same applies to someone who takes over after me.
“You don’t play for those reasons. We are looking to win both games, and not win this one and draw next. There is no point running too far ahead into the future. Let other people think about the what-ifs,” Kohli added.
(India Today inputs)
