Virat Kohli is the "boss" of the Indian cricket team and the main driving force behind its success across formats since taking over as captain, head coach Ravi Shastri said.
For Shastri, Kohli is a leader par excellence, someone who has led from the front and set the tone for the rest of his teammates.
WATCH - Virat Kohli gets a haircut by wife Anushka Sharma at home
While Kohli's decision-making, the propensity to chop & change too much has been under the scanner, the on-field results have been magnificent.
The Indian team reigns supreme on top of the ICC Test rankings and also holds the numero-uno spot in the World Test Championship points table, apart from tasting enormous success in the limited-overs game.
"The captain is the boss, I always believe that," the former all-rounder said in a Sky Cricket Podcast. "The job of the coaching staff, as far as I'm concerned, is to prepare the guys in the best possible way to be able to go out there and play brave, positive, fearless cricket."
"The captain leads from the front. Yes, we are there to take off the burden but you leave him to do his job in the middle. The captain sets the tone and is encouraged to set the tone. In the middle, he controls the show."
Kohli's physical transformation has inspired others to work extra hard on their own fitness, aiding the overall growth of the Indian team.
"When you talk about fitness, the leadership came from the top and that is Virat. He is not a guy to mess around," Shastri said. "He woke up one morning and said if 'I want to play this game I want to be the fittest player in the world and compete against the best in all conditions' and he let his body go through one hell of a lot."
"It was not just the training but the sacrifices he made with his diet. I could see that change happening all the time. He got up one day and said 'Ravi, I'm vegetarian!'"
"When he sets those standards, it rubs off on others. Test cricket for us is the biggest form. It's the benchmark. We want to set standards."
(Inputs from India Today)
