Indian wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik on Thursday (3rd March) said that Virat Kohli has not only left the legacy for Indian cricket but world cricket as well.
After leading Team India for seven years at the helm in Tests, Kohli announced his decision to step down as the Indian Test skipper through a social media post. His decision came after India's Test series loss to South Africa in January this year.
The right-hander had taken charge of the Indian Test side during the 2014 tour of Australia. Since then, he put hard yards as the skipper and took the team to new heights under his leadership. 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.
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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 with 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.
The Indian batting sensation is still going strong and is now all set to play his 100th Test match. The right-hander will become only the 12th Indian player to achieve the feat when the Rohit Sharma-led side will lock horns against Sri Lanka in the first Test on 4th March in Mohali.
Speaking on the ICC review, Dinesh Karthik said that not only in Indian cricket, but Virat Kohli has also left a legacy for world cricket. He praised the former skipper for changing the standard of cricket in the national team.
"I do not think Virat Kohli has just left a legacy for Indian cricket, he has left a legacy for world cricket. The intensity with which India has played Test cricket for the last few years has been phenomenal. The world has been amazed by how much energy Virat can bring.
“People all around the globe enjoyed that. I think Kohli brought fitness to the table and he has made that a mandate, people have followed that and you can see the standard of fielding has gone up two notches," Karthik said.
Dinesh Karthik recalled when India lost a home Test to Australia on a ‘rank turner’ in Pune in 2017, a lot of eyebrows were raised. But after that things turned around and Virat Kohli made India the dominant force in Test cricket.
"I think for me, it would be the Australia tour of India when India lost the first Test in Pune on a rank turner. A lot of eyeballs were raised on how can India lose on a turning pitch but after that, they played in Bengaluru, things just went on an upward curve after that. Backs were against the wall after the first Test,” he said.
(With ANI inputs)
