Virat Kohli is one of the most successful captains for India in Test cricket. Under his leadership, India excelled not just at home but in overseas conditions. India won the Border-Gavaskar series dominating Tim Paine's side in 2018-19. After relinquishing captaincy in T20Is, Kohli was sacked as ODI captain whereas he left the captaincy in the longest format of the game after series loss to South Africa in 2022. More than two years after Kohli left captaincy, former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels that he should have gone on to lead the team longer in the format.
"Captaincy of the Indian team is a 24/7 job. Lot of on and off the field things happen like selection, non-selection and team performance. So, it does take a toll (on individual performances). Him giving up captaincy at that time means he is now playing with lesser responsibilities. Even though I personally feel he could have continued a bit longer as Test captain," Bangar said on The Rao Podcast.
Bangar recalled when he wasn't able to score double centuries. He said that it is not easy to maintain high standards at the international level.
"It is humanly impossible to sustain at the level at which he was playing between 2014 and 2019. The dip had to come. When you play with that sort of passion he was scoring daddy hundreds. But he told me that he wasn't scoring a double hundred. After a while he realised that there is a process to which he can make double hundreds and once he tasted that he made four or five in one season," he added.
Kohli’s Test captaincy numbers
Kohli took over Test captaincy when MS Dhoni announced his retirement. From 2014 to 2022, he led India in 68 Tests. Under the 36-year-old's leadership, India won 40 Tests. India also reached the final of inaugural edition of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2019-21 where they lost to New Zealand.
Kohli chasing another milestone
Kohli will be back in action in Test cricket in two-Test series against Bangladesh starting September 19. He needs 152 more runs to become India's fourth batter to complete 9,000 Test runs.
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