Bring down the curtains.

 

It was around seven years ago, when Virat Kohli then aged 26, led India for the first time in the longest format of the game. In that series against Australia, Kohli earned the opportunity to captain the team twice - in the opening and closing matches of the test series.

 While the former test match witnessed a 48 runs defeat to the guests, the world cricket acknowledged the contribution made by ‘the new captain’- unfortunately in a lost cause. The latter one resulted in a draw, where ‘the new captain’ stamped his authority over world cricket by slamming a magnificent century in the first innings. At the end of the series, Virat Kohli stood second in the tally of highest run getter with 692 runs at a whooping average of 86.50 aided with four scintillating tons.

 The Australian tour of 2014-15 became a defining moment in the career of Virat Kohli as a captain. The succeeding fixtures heralded the journey of captain Kohli and established the state of Indian cricket team in safe hands. Not only as a batter but also as a captain, Kohli has achieved the unachievable.  

Statistics speak for the brilliant stewardship Virat has shown on the field. Soon after taking the charge as a permanent captain of India in tests, Virat Kohli crowned the team to the first spot in the ICC test rankings in 2016 where no change was noticed till 2020. He captained India in 68 test matches, of which 40 matches saw India home and 17 were lost and remaining 11 ended in draw. With a winning percentage of 58.82%, Kohli holds the record for the best winning percentage, only behind Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.

 Besides clinching major victories in SENA countries, India qualified for the first ever final of World Test Championship. As a batter, Virat Kohli registered seven double centuries along with most number of centuries (20) by an Indian captain. The attitude and energy which world’s finest batter bring into play is phenomenal. He plays in his own league.

The last few years have been underwhelming for a player who normally enjoys the insurmountable caliber. Last year caught sight of Virat Kohli relinquishing the T20 captaincy. The month that followed saw the controversial withdrawal of leadership from Virat Kohli in ODIs. He has been under scanner for a while, due to his inability of scoring a century for more than two years now- the last one being scored in 2019.

Time changes and so will king’s lean patch. As he will now be unburdened off all his previous captaincy duties, the revival of ‘old Virat Kohli’ is restless to arrive on the scene. As a captain, he has proved everything and nothing is left to be proven. He will go down as one of the finest captain as well as batter to have ever played the gentleman’s game. The famous cricketer turned commentator once happened to remark,’’ Virat Kohli’s success does not surprise you. His failures do.’’ This is the reason why critics often boast about Kohli’s failures over his success.  Kohli’s stepping down as captain, brings curtain down on unparalled superiority which transformed India into the superpower of world cricket.  

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