India’s ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has heaped praise on former India captain Virat Kohli. During an interview, Ashwin termed Kohli’s captaincy as “inspiring” and claimed that he always leads from the front.
Virat Kohli led India from 2014 to 2022. During his tenure, India achieved several milestones, although the ICC trophy drought continued. He led India in 2013 in total, winning 135 and losing 60. He had a winning percentage of 63.38.
During this period, many players reached their peak performances and Ravichandran Ashwin was one of them. Ashwin established himself as India’s premier spinner, especially in Tests, and became one of the best red-ball bowlers in the world.
Also Read: Yograj Singh takes potshots at Kapil Dev after MS Dhoni; launches ballistic attack
Ravichandran Ashwin praises Virat Kohli, calls him an ‘inspiring captain’
During a recent interview with sports journalist Vimal Kumar, Ashwin called Virat Kohli an inspiring captain. The bowler claimed that Kohli likes to lead from the front and show the way for others to follow.
“Virat Kohli is an inspiring captain. He inspired every player in the team. And whatever he wants from the team, he shows it by doing it himself. Kohli leads from the front as captain,” Ashwin said in the interview.
Ravi Ashwin said, “Virat Kohli is an inspirational captain. He inspired every player in the team. And whatever he wants from the team, he shows by doing it himself. Kohli leads from the front as captain.” (Vimal Kumar YT). pic.twitter.com/JoJOWMfvtF
— Tanuj Singh (@ImTanujSingh) September 1, 2024
India’s Test record under Virat Kohli
Under Virat Kohli’s leadership, India transformed into a formidable Test team. India won 39 out of 68 Tests under his leadership with a winning percentage of 58.82. Of these 39 wins, 24 were at home and 15 were away.
India’s overseas record improved significantly under Kohli’s leadership where they registered historic wins in South Africa and England.
But the cherry on the cake was the Test series win in Australia in 2018-19. On the subsequent tour of Australia during 2020-21, India recorded another series win, though Kohli had to leave the series midway after the first Test.
Kohli’s form was brilliant during his tenure as captain. During this period, he amassed 5703 runs at an average of 55.36 and smashed 20 hundreds.
The 35-year-old scored a record seven double hundreds as captain, which is the most by a captain in Test history.
Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin have played together for most of their careers in Test matches. Especially in India’s home Test matches, both are among the country’s best players in the red-ball format.
Ashwin was also a regular part of India’s white-ball formats before losing his place after the 2017 Champions Trophy.
Both Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin are expected to be in action during India’s upcoming home Test series against Bangladesh starting from September 19. Both are likely to play key roles in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy to be played later this year.
