India climbed to the top of the ICC Test rankings from seventh under Virat Kohli's leadership.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has credited their former skipper Virat Kohli for India’s radical transformation in Test cricket. India was in seventh place in the ICC Test rankings when Kohli took over the Test captaincy from MS Dhoni in 2015.
However, his aggressive leadership saw them acquire the top spot just a year later, in October 2016. Since then, Kohli and Co. held the throne for three and a half years, till March 2020.
Bhuvneshwar acknowledged Kohli’s contribution to India’s spectacular rise in Test cricket. He stated that the high energy and intensity that the former India captain brings onto the ground, whenever he steps into the field, helped to charge up all other players to give their best in it. Moreover, he opined that aggression is required to succeed in the longest format of cricket.
“The way Virat captained in the Test cricket, I will give credit that the way transformation happened – all credit goes to Virat. I think the reason for that is the nature of Virat on the ground, he is aggressive. In Test cricket, you need that nature because it goes five days – that passion rubbed onto everyone,” said Bhuvneshwar in a RCB interview.
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The 36-year-old is in a red-hot form in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. He has scored 505 runs in 11 matches so far with an average of 63.13. The batter is currently placed fourth in the highest run-scorers list (Orange Cap).
With 16 points in 11 matches, his franchise RCB is currently placed second in the points table. They are well set for a top-two finish in the IPL 2025 league stage, with three matches remaining in the tournament.
The Men in Red will next go head-to-head with the Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium on May 9.
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