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Why Virat Kohli, the captain, deserves great praise | Why India captain Virat Kohli deserves praise for India’s Test rise

As Mohammed Siraj bowled James Anderson with just about eight overs to go on the final day, Indian skipper Virat Kohli ran around in ecstasy at Lord’s, better defined by the Englishmen as the ‘Home of Cricket’.

This was the second time that the Indian team had breached the most iconic cricket ground in Britain, and they had done it not only in style but some sheer substance.

One cannot say that India thoroughly dominated this contest and claimed the bragging rights eventually. Instead, they were down and out to an extent on the fourth day, but yet never lost hope and showed tremendous grit and resilience to claw their way back into this contest.

A team synonymous to Virat Kohli, the captain

In some ways, these are characteristics synonymous to captain Kohli as well. And these are traits that have been associated with him right from the beginning of his career.

Kohli was, perhaps in his own admission, never the most talented of batsmen to begin with. However, he managed to scale up the ladder and reach the top of world cricket through the incredible spirit, character and perseverance that he developed gradually over the course of his career.

Similarly, he took over the reins of this Test team in uncomfortable circumstances in the middle of another series defeat in Australia.

Seven years later, he has helped transform the side into a world-beater; a consistent performer in both home and away conditions. More importantly, he has built a unit that manages to put in collective performances and does not rely on individual brilliance to achieve great feats.

Just fathom this; followers of the game in India really go hard on criticism even in the slightest of slipups committed by the Indian side in foreign conditions. That’s the level of expectations that one harbours from this unit in the current times. It is a significant leap from the back the times when the team toured abroad and returned back satisfied having noted a single odd victory sometimes.

Kohli plays a key role in building a strong pace unit

And, undoubtedly, a large chunk of this credit should be laden upon Kohli’s work towards putting together a top-notch, arguably amongst the best ever pace batteries seen in world cricket.

He along with the senior leaders and management have overseen the introduction of blue-eyed boys like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, the revival of Ishant Sharma and immense improvement of Mohammed Shami. Umesh Yadav has become a bankable gun for testing conditions in India whereas Shardul Thakur has propped up as an unexpected game-changer with both bat and ball.

The mere fact that India could produce such a lethal pace attack was improbable until some time ago. That’s an indisputable legacy that Kohli has created, step by step. It began with our fast bowlers excelling first at home and then proving their worth in every single difficult overseas condition.

Virat Kohli has helped drive a culture of better fitness

Another remarkable contribution from the skipper’s end has been towards a holistic development and growth of the fitness culture in the team. The seeds for this were sown in the captaincy of MS Dhoni in the previous tenure. But one can argue that Kohli’s time has seen the rounding up of a large transition that allowed him to develop a pipeline of players who would rank amongst the fittest athletes in the sport worldwide.

The Indian cricket team’s schedule is currently jam-packed like never before. And there are certain players who are certainties in the XI regardless of the format. Add to that the important IPL commitments and it ensures that the players remain at the peak of their physical well-being throughout the course of the year, over and again.

Gone are the times when mainstay Indian cricketers had to pull out of important tours owing to unexpected injuries. This squad has formidable stars raring to go all guns blazing consistently. If one falls, they prop up with another equally proficient individual. This has created a culture of healthy competition, keeping the players on their toe as there is always a replacement in place for the under-performing ones.

Simultaneously, Kohli has done well to back his trusted lieutenants throughout their thick and thins, barring some exceptions.

Over the years, the captain has repeatedly stressed upon the key role that the duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara play in the Test setup. The way these two players weathered the storm on the fourth day of the Lord’s Test was a thing for the ages in the red-ball game. When the Indian team’s back was against the wall, they stood up and demonstrated incredible grit and patience to ensure that the team gradually climbs its way into the game.

More importantly, they have done this on multiple occasions over the years and have rightly earned the skipper’s recognition and respect for the same.

Another interesting facet was the timely introduction of senior pro Rohit Sharma into the Test XI. Over time, it became imminent that Sharma had become too good a player to be left out of squad of any format of the game. Kohli tackled that opportunity by slotting Sharma in the opener’s slot, a role in which he has excelled in white-ball cricket since 2013.

The way the seasoned statesman has responded to the challenge and owned his position is another classic tale of the right captaincy call at the right time; also, a testament to Sharma’s own class as a batsman, something that seems to have improved by leaps and bounds with experience.

Johannesburg, Trent Bridge, Adelaide, Melbourne, Lord’s. These are big victories, absolutely big if looked in the backdrop that India never collected these many victories in overseas conditions so consistently in the past. And to think of the fact that there are more such wins to come in the following years…it’s a facet of Virat Kohli’s career that will live on long after he hangs he boots as well.

Deservedly so!

Written by Tarkesh Jha. Follow Tarkesh on Twitter