Virat Kohli finished as India's most successful captain in Test cricket.
Former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik has revealed details of a conversation he had with former India skipper Virat Kohli before the start of the Edgbaston Test in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Karthik shared that Kohli admitted his stint as Test captain brought out the best in him as a batter and marked a turning point in his career in the longest format. Then, Karthik also shared how he sees similarities in Shubman Gill, India’s new Test captain.
“I met him a few days ago, and we were just chatting generally. And this topic about captaincy came up,” Karthik said on the Sky Cricket podcast. “And he said, you know, people think I’m a great Test cricketer and I enjoyed my Test batting, which I did. But the fact is that my getting my captaincy was the best thing to happen to my batting.”
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The 39-year-old drew parallels between Kohli’s remarks about India’s most successful captain in Tests and what Gill had said about his batting and leadership.
“Why I’m saying that is the same line that was used by Shubman Gill as well,” said Karthik. “He said, ‘I used to bat differently. But now, after I’ve got captaincy, when I’m batting, I think this is what my team requires — rather than me wanting to do something individually as a batter.’ To which I thought, wow. Now, this is something the world of cricket has to take notice of, because here’s a man who has the appetite, who has the skill, who’s got the technique. But now he’s got the mindset as well that says, I’m a captain. I’m going to lead from the front. It looks like he’s on the right path.”
Kohli led India to the most wins in the SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) countries. He won 18, lost six, and drew one (a washout against Bangladesh) out of 25 series. Kohli also holds the record for most runs (5,864 in 68 Tests) as India’s captain.
Gill, on the other hand, has captained the national side in just two Tests so far. He has already led India to a historic 336-run victory over England, their biggest win in the SENA nations. However, India lost the first Test at Headingley despite five individual centuries from the batters.
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The 25-year-old was under scrutiny for his poor stats in SENA countries, averaging just 14.66 in England. He answered his critics, scoring 585 runs in just four innings across two Tests, averaging a whopping 146.25. Gill has already amassed a double century and two centuries, with three more Tests to go in the series. He is now just 107 runs behind Kohli’s tally of 692 runs for the most runs in a debut Test series as captain.
Gill has shattered multiple records in the series. He became the Indian with the highest aggregate runs (430) in a Test. Since Sunil Gavaskar, Gill became the first Indian batter to score a double hundred and a ton in the same Test. He now holds the record for the highest score in an innings in England Tests.
Currently, the series is level at 1-1. The third Test will be played at the home of cricket, Lord’s, from July 10.
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