Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting was full of praise for former India captain Virat Kohli on Sunday, saying the 33-year-old has accomplished more as a Test captain than Australia has accomplished during his time as captain” amazing”.
Kohli, who stepped down from Test captaincy earlier this month, ended his tenure as the fourth most successful captain with a 58.82 win rate – behind Steve Waugh, Don Bradman and Ponting himself.
No other Indian captain has led the team more times than Kohli (68) and won more matches (40). At home, India remains an invincible force under Kohli, with the team losing just two of their 31 matches. Far from home, India has won 16 of 36 Tests under him, which translates to a winning percentage of 44.44, the highest of any Asian captain who has led the team in at least 10 games.
Ponting explained to former cricketer Isa Guha in the first episode of the ICC Review that India’s efforts under Kohli were more “amazing” than what the Australians had achieved under him, because while India was under Kohli’s Many tests were won under the previous leadership and they continued to struggle overseas.
“This is an amazing achievement for India compared to us,” Pontin said. “When I took over, I took over a team that had dominated world cricket for a long time.
“If you think about India before Virat, it was winning a lot of games at home and a lot of games overseas. The thing that improved the most was India winning more games overseas and that’s what he and everyone have done. Like something Indian cricket has to be proud of.
“The other thing is that when Virat took over, the BCCI was really focused on Test cricket, and I think a lot of it came from him – more focus on Test cricket and winning more games at home, leaving.
“Given his Test record as captain, he can leave the role and be very, very proud of what he has achieved.”
Complete News Source : Hindustan Times
