Indian cricket has undergone massive changes right from the 90s. Back in the 1960s and 70s, the Indian team was considered nothing more than minnows. In fact, during the famous 1983 world cup semifinal, the BBC had refused to telecast the match of India vs Zimbabwe, citing it as a “battle of minnows”. This was not just because of the low playing standards, but also because of the low attitude that the Indians displayed among the aggressive likes of Australia and England. The Indians were bullied badly in Test cricket, literally and figuratively. Fierce bouncers, terrific swings, and dangerous cutters would rattle the Indians. Only a few like Sunil Gavaskar held their ground in front of the likes of Denis Lillee, Michael Holding, and Malcolm Marshall.
From this period to the 1983 world cup win – to the mega rise of Sachin Tendulkar – to the glowing era of Sourav Ganguly – to the competitive era of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Indian cricket has come a long way. During the tenure of MS Dhoni, the Indian team brought a young Delhi boy onboard, realizing him as a future star. The U-19 World-Cup winning captain, Virat Kohli was all up for the challenge. He was groomed under Dhoni’s captaincy as a promising batsman. No one ever doubted his batting prowess, as he scored century after century in all the countries around the globe, be it the Asian soils of India and Sri Lanka or the SENA soils. But what differentiated him from any of the previous Indian cricketers was his ability to stand up for himself and his team. Glare for glare, words for words, and abuse for abuse, Virat Kohli breathed aggression and ferocity down opponents’ necks. This was a new captain in the making, one that would transform the face of Indian cricket as a dominant force, one that would be a leader of his forces.
Virat was given the captaincy of test cricket in the year 2014 when MS Dhoni decided to step down. Till then, India was known as dominant bullies in home conditions. But when it came to playing in the difficult away conditions, even the Indian fans themselves didn’t consider their team as a winning side. Securing draws was considered a victory in away conditions. But Virat Kohli was about to bring a radical change in how the team approached their opponents, be it any condition. He wanted to make the Indian Test team a dominant side who just wanted to win, irrespective of the playing conditions. When Kohli took the reins of the Test team, the Indian was ranked 7th in the world by the ICC, which was pretty low for a team of such talent. Virat Kohli started a revolution of changing India’s attitude toward Test cricket. He started adapting the team to the growing conditions which included bringing a pace-packed bowling attack and the mindset to give the opponents exactly what they deserve. Till 2014, India mostly relied on spin bowling to win matches, not emphasizing much on how the pace battery of the team would help them reverse the effects that countries like Australia, England, and New Zealand applied. Some of the most memorable series wins under Virat’s tenure are the Border-Gavaskar Trophy(2018-19), the tour of West Indies(2019), South Africa(2015), New Zealand(2016), England(2016), and the tour of England(2021). In the 2018-19 Australia tour, India clinched the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1 epically. They also became the first subcontinent team to win a Test series against Australia, in Australia. India won the first Test by 31 runs but the series was leveled as Australia fought back. India then scripted a 137-run victory to take a 2-1 lead. The 4th Test was a draw. This went on to be such a memorable series, that in the documentary “The Test” released on Amazon Prime Video, which marks Australia’s rise as a superpower in Test cricket, there was an episode dedicated entirely to this tour, especially how the Aussies planned on tackling the storm of Virat Kohli. Australian coach Justin Langer describes Kohli to be “one of a kind” and a “constant source of bubbling energy”. Fast bowler Pat Cummins describes Virat to be the “toughest batsman he has bowled to”. On the bouncy and tricky pitch of the Optus Stadium in Perth, Virat scored a memorable century when other Indian batsmen struggled miserably to even connect the bat with the ball. Although India lost that particular match, Kohli’s classic innings and his gesture indicating “my bat does the talking” remain etched in Australian and Indian hearts to this day: the former in fear and the latter in awe.
Another reason why this series win is so memorable is not just for Virat as a batsman, but also for Virat as a captain. The Australian fans and players alike did their best to sledge the Indian players but they were not ready for this ferocious captain who was going to return everything they threw at him. He didn’t shy away from sledging the Australian players, even abusing them if need be. Although he has gained a lot of criticism for his on-field aggression, which media often terms as “arrogance”, that’s been typical of Virat Kohli, who doesn’t hide his words and actions behind a smile. He does what he feels is right and also grooms his team to be tough in front of the rough opponents. His impact on the team is so clearly visible that during the England tour racism scandal concerning Mohammed Siraj in 2021, KL Rahul was clear in saying “If you come after one of us, you will get all eleven of us coming after you”. The English crowd was given adequate responses, which they never received from any visiting Indian team to date. And this was an indication that India was no longer the silent team you could mess with and get away with.
Apart from changing the attitude of his team, Kohli also became the most successful Test captain India ever had. He captained 68 matches, winning 40 of them with a 59% win percentage. The next best, MS Dhoni had only 45% to his name. In the world, only Graeme Smith, Steve Waugh, and Ricky Ponting had better numbers than Kohli. It was under Kohli’s leadership that India was crowned as the No.1 Test team in the ICC rankings for a continuous period of 42 months from October 2016 till early March 2020. On an individual note as a batsman, Kohli flourished in Test cricket. He has scored most Test centuries for India as captain. With 20 centuries since being an Indian Test skipper, Kohli is only behind Graeme Smith (25) with most Test hundreds as captain. Kohli has scored seven double centuries in his Test career. Coincidentally, all of his Test double tons have come during his tenure as captain. This also puts him first on the list of most double centuries for any Test captain. Kohli also holds the record for scoring most Test runs for India as captain. In 68 Tests so far, Virat has scored 5703 runs at an average of 55.36 including a highest score of 254* against South Africa.
Undoubtedly, India enjoyed a golden period of Test cricket under Virat Kohli.
Coming to white-ball formats, it is safe to say that India didn’t achieve the success that was expected from a star-studded side like them. By success, it is clear that India didn’t win ICC trophies, which include the 2017 Champions trophy, 2019 World Cup, and the recent 2021 T20 World Cup. Still, Kohli is the fourth most successful Indian ODI captain, having led them to 65 wins since 2017. Virat has the second most runs as ODI captain (5449 runs) after MS Dhoni. Dhoni registered a tally of 6641 ODI runs in 200 matches as captain for India. He has scored the most ODI centuries by an Indian captain. Kohli is only behind Ricky Ponting, who scored 22 centuries during his tenure as captain of Australia. Moreover, Kohli has the third-best win percentage (70.4) in the world among captains who have led in at least 90 ODIs. Only Ricky Ponting (76.13) and Hansie Cronje (73.7) are ahead of him.
Kohli led India to the final of the Champions Trophy in 2017 and the semi-final of the 2019 world cup. Apart from this, he has led the team to multiple bilateral series wins in ODIs.
Some of Kohli’s greatest achievements as ODI captain include dominating the group stage in the 2019 world cup, beating England in 2017 and 2021, demolishing New Zealand and South Africa in their backyards in 2019 and 2018 respectively, and being awarded as the best traveling team in ODI cricket from 2017 to 2021.
India won an ODI series in every country except England under Kohli. This itself shows that although they didn’t win an ICC trophy under him, Kohli’s records as ODI captain are excellent and cannot be brushed aside as rubbish. He remains one of the greatest ODI captains of India.
In T20Is, although Kohli failed to win the 2021 T20 world cup, he enjoys a good statistical record as a captain and batsman. He led India in 50 matches since 2017, winning 30 of them, which is a great statistic considering the competitive nature of this format. Kohli has the most runs as a T20I skipper for India, with 1570 runs to his name, ranking fourth among the captains with the most runs in this format. He is the second most successful Test captain behind MS Dhoni for India. He is the only Indian skipper to win the T20I bilateral series in all SENA nations. Under him, India won 5-0 in New Zealand in 2020, 2-1 in Australia 2020, 2-1 in England in 2018, and 2-1 in South Africa in 2018.
Kohli’s record as an Indian captain has been impeccable. Except for his lack of success at ICC events, he has taken Indian cricket to greater heights ever since he took the reins. His biggest contribution to the everlasting legacy of this great team has been his passion and hunger to win. No matter where they played or against who they played, Kohli continued to instill a belief in his team to never give up and led the team front in all parameters, just like a true leader does. Even after his exit as India captain, his impact still lingers on in the team that he created and built.
Coming to the main question: Whether his captaincy years were a boon or a bane?
Looking at all his records and the current impact that the Indian cricket team has on its opponents as well as its fans, I would say it was an absolute boon to have a leader like Kohli who never hesitated from taking tough decisions and standing up for his team and country!