Late in the evening on January 15, 2022, the cricketing fraternity and fans received a shock as Team India’s Test captain Virat Kohli stepped down from his test captaincy duties. After 7 years of doing the captaincy duty, Virat Kohli showed his gratitude towards BCCI, MS Dhoni, and fans. The decision comes after Team India’s loss in the Test series against South Africa. Nonetheless, Virat Kohli has been one of the most successful test captains for India. Let us have a look at the highlights of his Test captaincy tenure.
When did Kohli take over the captaincy?
Midway through India’s Down Under tour in 2014-15, Virat assumed the captaincy. Kohli took over after Dhoni stepped down midway through the Test series and led India for the next seven years. Kohli’s statistics as captain are outstanding, and they look even better in cricket’s longest format. Since then, he has led the Indian team to the pinnacle of Test success. Here are his records as Test captain.
Most successful captain in terms of winning (Minimum 20 Tests)
Records created by Captain Kohli
- Four overseas Test victories in a calendar year: Kohli is the only Indian captain to achieve the feat twice. Incidentally, it was under Kohli’s captaincy when India achieved the feat for the first time as well. India won Tests in Brisbane, Lord’s, Oval, and Centurion in one year, equalling the feat in 2018 when India began their away win campaign in Johannesburg, Nottingham, Adelaide, and Melbourne.
- Asian Captains with the Most Test wins in SENA Countries: The Centurion victory was Kohli’s seventh in 23 Tests (he has lost 13 and drawn three), the most by an Asian captain in SENA countries. Kohli has won 16 of the 36 international Tests he has played.
- First Indian skipper to win two Test matches in South Africa: In South Africa, he is the first Indian captain to win two Tests: He is the only Indian captain to have led India to two Test match victories over South Africa. Under Kohli’s captaincy, India won a Test match in the rainbow nation in 2018.
- 100% win record at home: India did not lose any Test series at home under the captaincy of Virat Kohli – 11 out of 11 won.
Virat holds the record for the most (6) double hundreds by a captain in Test format
- International centuries as a captain in a winning cause – Virat Kohli only comes second to Ricky Ponting to score most international centuries by a skipper in a winning cause. While Ponting has 34, Kohli has 28 centuries.
- Most toss wins by an Indian captian – This is a one-of-a-kind achievement, and Kohli would undoubtedly be pleased to see his name etched in history. In his 68 matches as captain, the 33-year-old has won the toss 30 times. He surpassed Mohammad Azharuddin, who had won it 29 times in 47 matches. MS Dhoni, the former Indian captain, is third on this elusive list, with 26 toss victories in 60 test matches.
- First Indian skipper to score 1000 runs for 3 consecutive years: He certainly became the first Indian and the first Test captain to score 1,000 runs in three calendar years. In 2016 he made 1,215 runs, in 2017, 1,059 and in 2018 1,322.
- Most double hundreds as Test skipper: Even a single career double hundred is regarded as a significant accomplishment. However, it appears that King Kohli has made it a habit to reach unimaginable heights. He holds the record for the most (6) double hundreds by a captain in test format.
Be it batting or captaincy, Virat is known to break shackles and rise better and bigger just like his name. With Kohli’s announcement ends a great era in the history of Indian Test captaincy. He is leaving an unmatchable legacy, however, BCCI has big shoes to fill.