Virat Kohli told me how passionate he was to continue as India's Test captain in 2021: Ricky Ponting
India Today
Legendary Australia cricketer Ricky Ponting said Virat Kohli had discussed quitting white-ball captaincy with him in 2021 but that the India star had spoken passionately about continuing as the Test captain.
Legendary Australia batter Ricky Ponting said Virat Kohli should be proud of his achievements as Test captain, especially the way he prioritized the longest format of the same in the era of T20 cricket. Ponting said what Kohli achieved with India, placing emphasis on overseas Test wins, is one of the biggest success stories in Indian cricket.
Virat Kohli finished as India's most successful Test captain, winning 40 out of 68 Tests, leading the team to the No. 1 ranking and the final of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship during his 7-year-long tenure. Under Kohli, India never lost a Test series at home and won their first-ever series in Australia, lead England 2-1 in England in an incomplete series.
However, Virat Kohli helped raise quite a few eyebrows when he stepped down as India's Test captain in January, a day after the Asian giants lost a Test series in South Africa. Kohli had said in September last year that he wanted to continue as India's ODI and Test captain but he was sacked as ODI captain after the T20 World Cup. Following a dramatic turn of events during which he alleged lack of communication between him and the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Kohli took the decision to quit Test captaincy as well.
"If you think about India before Virat, it was about winning a lot of games at home and not winning quite as many overseas. The thing that improved the most was India winning a few more games overseas, and that's something that he and all of the Indian cricket have to be really proud of," Ponting told ICC.
"The other thing is there was really was a real focus placed on Test cricket by the BCCI when Virat took over, and I think a lot of it has come from him as well - to focus more on Test cricket and winning more games home and away.
"Given his Test record as captain, he can walk away from the role very, very proud of what he has achieved."
Meanwhile, Ponting revealed that he had a chat with Virat Kohli in March-April 2021 and the India star had discussed with him about quitting white-ball captaincy.
