Indian captain Virat Kohli said that his record of being India’s most successful Test captain is down to a collective effort from his teammates and a ‘by-product of his team’s quality’.
India’s whopping 257-run triumph over West Indies on Monday was Kohli’s 28th victory in Tests as a captain, and this took him above his former captain MS Dhoni to become the country’s most successful Test captain.
However, speaking about the record, the 30-year-old rather acknowledged his teammates.
"Captaincy is just a 'c' in front of your name honestly. It's the collective effort that matters," Kohli told Ian Bishop in the post-match presentation. "It's a by-product of this quality team that we have here. If we didn't have the bowlers that we have, I don't think the results would have been possible.
"Yes, you can score as many runs as you want, but if you look at these guys running in and putting their heart in - I mean [Mohammed] Shami's spell today, [Jasprit] Bumrah after having a small niggle, Ishant [Sharma] bowling his heart out, [Ravindra] Jadeja bowling a long spell… I don't think without these bowlers it would have been possible. So, I think all the credit has to go to the whole team."
Winning the game in the second session on Day four, Kohli had some words reserved for the Man of the Match, Hanuma Vihari, who scored 111 and 53 not out in his two innings of the second Test.
“Hanuma was the stand-out batsman in this game. According to the surface, it was a top-class innings from him. He is someone who is sure of his game and it shows. The dressing room feels calm when he’s batting. That’s a quality he possesses naturally,” Kohli added.
“He (Hanuma) is willing to improve. He accepts and corrects his mistakes and plays with a lot of heart. Always up to do anything for the team. It’s a very young career so far but he’s shown why he’s been backed and selected in this team.”
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Randy Brooks
