India’s ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has heaped praise on former India captain Virat Kohli. In an interview, Ashwin termed Kohli’s captaincy as “inspirational” and claimed that he always leads from the front.
Virat Kohli led India from 2014 to 2022. During his tenure, India achieved several milestones, but India’s ICC Trophy drought continued. He led India in all matches in 2013, winning 135 runs and losing 60. He had a strike rate of 63.38.
During this period, many players witnessed their best form and Ravichandran Ashwin was one of them. Ashwin established himself as India’s best spinner especially in Tests and became one of the best red-ball spinners in the world.
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Ravichandran Ashwin praises Virat Kohli, calls him an “inspirational captain”.
In a recent interview with sports journalist Vimal Kumar, Ashwin called Virat Kohli an inspirational captain. The off-spinner claimed that Kohli loves to lead from the front and show the way for others to follow.
“Virat Kohli is an inspirational captain. He has inspired every player in the team. And whatever he wants for the team, he shows it by doing it himself. Kohli leads from the front as captain,” Ashwin said in an interview.
Ravi Ashwin said, “Virat Kohli is an inspirational captain. He has 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.” (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 has transformed into a formidable Test team. Under his leadership, India has won 39 of the 68 Tests at a win rate of 58.82. Of these 39 wins, 24 were at home and 15 were away.
Under Kohli’s leadership, India’s overseas record improved considerably, with historic victories in South Africa and England.
But the decoration came in the Test series win in Australia in 2018-19. In the 2020-21 tour of Australia, India recorded another series win, but Kohli had to leave the series midway after the first Test.
Kohli’s form was excellent during his tenure as captain. During this period, he amassed 5703 runs at an average of 55.36 and hit 20 hundreds.
The 35-year-old has scored a record seven double hundreds as captain, the most by a captain in Test history.
Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin have played together for most of their Test careers, especially in India’s home Tests. Both are among India’s best players in the red-ball format.
Ashwin was a regular in the white-ball format for India until he lost his place after the 2017 Champions Trophy.
Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin are both expected to feature in India’s home Test series against Bangladesh starting on September 19. Both are likely to play a key role in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 later this year.
