I'm confident Virat Kohli will show Indian cricket the way ahead: Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma is confident of Virat Kohli’s capabilities to lead the Indian Test team

Rohit Sharma has heaped lavish praise on Indian Test captain Virat Kohli ahead of their upcoming tour of Bangladesh, saying that the star batsman has all the credentials to show the way forward for Indian cricket. Kohli took over as Test captain on a permanent basis following MS Dhoni’s retirement from the five-day format after the 3rd Test against Australia in Melbourne last year.

Kohli undoubtedly has big boots to fill as Test captain, but Rohit is confident that the 26-year-old will be up to the task. The one-off Test against Bangladesh begins on June 10.

"I have never seen a player like him and what he has done in this limited time speaks volumes about the hard work he has done to achieve it. He brings a different energy to the table. I like his aggression and we saw how he led the Indian side in Australia," Rohit said.

"Now the onus is on him to carry forward the Indian legacy, he has to show us the way ahead. And I am confident he will."

While the Indian limited-overs set-up has enjoyed great success in recent years, the same cannot be said of the Test side, especially away from home. Since June 2011, India have won just two of the 24 Tests that they have played away from home.

Rohit, however, urged for people to show patience and is confident that they have a bright future ahead across all formats of the game.

"It is important to leave our past behind and look ahead. The past two Test series have not gone our way, but we all have learnt something from it. We fought in each game and tried to be aggressive," he said.

"The onus is on all of us to deliver. Test cricket is a different ball game altogether. We have played some good cricket and we [youngsters] all have different styles of play, which is good. We know the fact that we will have someone in the side who will rise to the occasion, but one needs to be patient too. We are a developing side and I am confident we will do well ahead.”