Virat Kohli is yet to be fully tested as captain of the Indian cricket team despite leading the country to the number one spot in Test rankings, former spinner Bishan Singh Bedi has claimed.
Kohli, 29, captained India to nine successive Test series wins, matching a record set by Australia between 2005 and 2008, before a 2-1 series defeat against South Africa in January.
While Bedi praised Kohli's voracious appetite for run-making in all formats of the game, the spin legend said he is still to showcase his ability to change the outcome of a game as a tactician.
"Let me be very honest. He is leading from the front as a batsman. Team is showing results," Bedi told Firstpost.
"You talk about [former Australia captain] Steve Waugh, you talk about [former England captain] Michael Brearley. [They were] real thinkers of the game. He is yet to leave that impact. I want him to show that. He has not been tested yet.
"Kohli is phenomenal with his consistency. What I admire more about him is his intensity. He is very intense. He is frighteningly intense," he added.
Bedi went on to say that he was encouraged by the performances of India's pace attack heading into tough overseas tours to England and Australia later this year, and added that he hoped that the bowlers can stay fit.
"England is long, five Test matches. And Australia is four Test matches. Plus they will have exhausted a fair amount of their energies in the IPL (Indian Premier League)," he stated.
India play three Twenty20 internationals and three one-day games against England in July before a five-match Test series in August.
The world's number one ranked Test team will be looking to register their first series win in England in more than a decade, with their last victory on English soil coming in 2007.
Earlier this week, former India captain Kapil Dev urged Kohli to play county cricket to get acclimatized to conditions in England ahead of India's tour to the country.
"If he can play a season or two in English county cricket there would be nothing wrong [with that] because if you want to be the best player in the world you have to get runs everywhere," the legendary all-rounder was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
