Virat Kohli’s era as India’s captain is over after the announcement that he’s stepping down as a Test skipper. The seven-year job as India’s Test captain came to a close after the recent defeat in South Africa.
Starting captaincy in an opening away Test in Australia in 2014 along with becoming the first-ever male batter in Test history to score three centuries in their first three innings as Test captain, his 692 runs in the series are still the most by an Indian batter in a series in Australia.
Since then, Kohli has had a major role in turning the Indian Cricket Team into a dominant force in World Test cricket, leading India to the top of the ICC Test Rankings.
Understanding Kohli’s captaincy through numbers
As a Test captain
From leading the Indian Team in Tests to reaching the top spot and holding there for 42 consecutive months to acquiring the most Test caps (68), Kohli has surpassed history with his 68 appearances as a skipper. Also, winning 40 out of 68 makes him the fourth most successful captain. With 17 losses and 11 draws, his side enjoyed a win percentage of 58.82 under his leadership, behind only Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.
Scoring close to six thousand runs in Test cricket as a captain reflects Kohli’s determination and grit. The immense transition we have seen in him as a player is very much admirable. With an average of 54.80, while performing exceptionally well in home conditions, India won all 11 Test series under Kohli’s stewardship. He scored a total of 2907 runs in 31 Tests in India, with an incredible average of 67.60, along with 10 centuries under his name.
The 33-year-old holds an incredible 77.41% win record as captain in home games, losing only two of a total of 31 fixtures. In 37 away games, he has managed to emerge victorious on 16 occasions.
As a T20I and ODI skipper
In the shortest format of the game, Kohli led the team and lost just two of the 17 T20I series during his time as a skipper. His scores and record as a captain are only behind Kane Williamson and Aaron Finch (both took more innings and at a significantly lower average). With a batting average of 47.57, Kohli scored 1570 runs in 50 matches as the T20I captain.
Winning 65 of his 95 matches in ODI, Kohli has the highest win percentage by any Indian captain to have led the team, and with the bat, Kohli hit 21 centuries at an extraordinary average of 72.65. Only Ricky Ponting from Australia has scored more centuries as a captain in ODIs, while Kohli’s batting average is by far the highest for a captain.
Key takeaways from Kohli’s career as a Test captain
- Winning four overseas Tests in a calendar year (2018).
- First Asian captain to win at Centurion, South Africa.
- Most Test wins by Asian captain in SENA countries.
- Only Asian skipper to win two Boxing Day Tests.
- First Indian skipper to win two Test matches in South Africa (2018).
- Led the team to WTC Final.