He is just 29 years of age and has already captained India in 39 Tests. What's more that he has won 22 of those Tests as a captain. Virat Kohli, the superstar batsman from India, is mostly talked about for his extraordinary batting feats. Not many, however, have spoken about Kohli the captain.
It doesn't feel like Virat has been the captain of the Indian Test team for long and yet he already is the fifth most capped Indian Test captain ever. Moreover, his winning percentage in Tests is 56.41 – the best for any Indian captain with more than 35 Tests. Granted that he has captained mostly in the sub-continent, but there is no denying that his leadership has been commendable and inspiring.
Kohli has always led from the front and is one of those captains who doesn't have a single negative cell in his body. In Test cricket, one needs to be patient and aggressive. When Virat Kohli was handed the reins of the team back in late 2014, many thought that his overly aggressive nature might harm the team. However, the opposite has happened. Kohli's never-say-die and aggressive attitude has clearly rubbed off on the team and the players have responded extremely well to his leadership.
Yes, he can get a touch over excited and at times it gets in the way of his captaincy but Kohli has been evolving really well and is maturing regularly as a leader. One can see that in the way he expresses himself in press conferences these days and the way he deals with the opposition players.
Traits of his maturity were noticeable earlier as well. In an interview to ESPN Cricket Monthly in June 2015, just a few months after being given the Test captaincy, this is what Kohli had said: "I really want to see all of us build our Test careers together. I really want to see we have the same sort of friendships, those bonds that the Australian teams have had in the past. In Test matches, we want to be the team to beat. I know we have the capability."
Truly, Kohli is very clear in his mind. He might make some odd team selection here and there, but his single-minded focus is to get a victory for India. What helps is that his captaincy is helping his batting as well. In the 39 Tests he has played as a captain, Kohli has 3896 runs at an average of 63.13 with 16 hundreds.
Virat Kohli thrives as a captain and his Test leadership has been a revelation which often gets overshadowed by his outstanding batting feats. He is currently marshalling his resources well in the Test series against England and has motivated his team to come back from a 0-2 scoreline to push the home team back and achieve a stunning victory in the third Test of the series at Nottingham. Another huge test will await him in Australia later this year. If he can surpass these two challenges, then Kohli the captain might well become unstoppable.
