After 60 Test matches, the current Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli is more successful than former captain MS Dhoni.
Kohli has led India to 36 wins in 60 Tests in comparison to Dhoni’s 27 wins.
The flamboyant stroke maker captained India for the first time in Adelaide, during India’s opening Test match on the tour of Australia in 2014/15. Although Dhoni led India in the following two Tests, Kohli permanently took over the captaincy reins in the last Test in Sydney.
In the last seven years, Kohli has tasted success in the West Indies (winning four out of six Tests), South Africa (winning one out of three) and Australia (winning two out of seven). However, Kohli has a poor record in England after winning just one Test in seven outings as a captain. In New Zealand though, India is yet to win a single Test.
On the other hand, Dhoni struggled to win in overseas conditions-- just one win each in England, South Africa and New Zealand in multiple attempts. In fact, it was under Dhoni that India got walloped 4-0 in England and Australia in 2011-12.
However, in white-ball cricket, Kohli is still behind the former wicket-keeper batsman in terms of leadership.
As far as Dhoni’s leadership qualities and stats are concerned, they remain unmatched. India won three ICC titles under Dhoni’s captaincy-- T20 World Cup 2007, 50-over World Cup 2011 and the ICC Champions Trophy in 2014.
Kohli is yet to win any major ICC trophy for the country. Besides, even in the Indian T20 league, Dhoni has won three titles for Chennai. Meanwhile, the Bangalore skipper has been visibly struggling to marshall his troops to the elusive crown.
Although Kohli doesn’t have a poor record in limited-overs cricket, many experts believe that he should hand over the captaincy to Rohit Sharma, who has impressed as a skipper in whatever limited opportunities he has got. The Mumbai cricketer also happens to be the most successful captain in the Indian T20 league thus far.
Kohli will now lead the Indian side in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand (from Jun18-22) and the five-match Test series against England, starting on August 4.
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Featured photo: Manjunath Kiran / AFP
