Ahead of India’s forthcoming Test series against New Zealand, Indian Test captain Virat Kohli has been give former Indian captain Kapil Dev’s vote of confidence. However, the World Cup winning captain does not think Kohli is the most important Indian player.
Virat Kohli has the highest winning ratio among all captains who have captained India for more than 5 test matches and has led India to victory in seven test match wins which also includes three consecutive series wins.
Kapil Dev lauds Ashwin
Kapil Dev also feels that the bowling all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has been in excellent form and is currently the most important player in the Indian contingent. “Since Ashwin started playing he has done unbelievably well. I never expected that somebody can come to this level.”
He also spoke about Ashwin’s wicket picking abilities. “Harbhajan Singh bowled so well and claimed more than 400 Test wickets and suddenly Ashwin comes out and starts taking wickets and scoring runs. I think he (Ashwin) is the most important player the Indian team has right now," Kapil said to India Today.
Also Read: Brett Lee feels India can become the number one Test side
He also believes that Kohli will leave his mark on Indian Cricket. "Virat is making his own place and I think he should make his own place and he doesn't have to get into anybody's shoes,” he said. “Neither did Dhoni have to fill anybody's shoes. Every cricketer comes out with his own personality and own performance and makes his own recognition."
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the most successful Indian Test captain with 27 wins in 60 Tests. Dhoni also brought India up to the top position in Test cricket in 2009 for the first time, which Virat Kohli will be hoping to do again.
Also Read: Can New Zealand tangle India in a web of spin at Kanpur
Praises Kohli captaincy
Kapil was enthusiastic when asked about his opinions on Kohli’s captaincy, “Looks like it (that we will be able to reclaim the No.1 spot). Virat Kohli has done a great job as captain like Dhoni who led for so many years. After Dhoni, we were looking for someone to lead and build the team again.”
However, he also feels that the cricketing principles of both the captains are very different. “I must say there is a day and night difference between Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni but both have given their 100 percent,” he added.
India is currently in second position in Test cricket, behind neighbours Pakistan.
India face New Zealand in Kanpur on Thursday.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
