Adam Gilchrist feels Virat Kohli is inspiring nation to go forward

Gilly said one should never forget the contribution of Mahendra Singh Dhoni to Indian cricket.

New Delhi: Former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist is in awe with the way Virat Kohli has emerged over the years in all three formats of the game.

The Aussie gave the best possible complement to Indian Test skipper by saying that he sees the star player taking the Indian team forward in all three formats for a long time.

"Virat is so impressive. He has learnt leadership in front of our eyes. When he is in charge (in Tests), he is very keen to fight fire with fire. I feel he is inspiring a nation and the team to go forward," Gilchrist told PTI.

However, even while praising Kohli's leadership skills, the legendary wicket-keeper batsman said one should never forget the contribution of Mahendra Singh Dhoni to Indian cricket.

Asked whether it is the right time for Kohli to take over captaincy in all three formats, Gilchrist said: "It is not for me to speculate. MSD (Dhoni) said after the World T20 that he would be playing for a quite a while. He has been an amazing leader and contributor to Indian cricket. He can go on for long as he wants and Virat has at least 10 more years for cricket left in him. So he has got plenty of time (to play and captain India)."

Gilly also feels that Indian and Australian players share a good bond, and gave the credit for it to the cash-rich Indian Premier League.

"Overall the relationship (between players of two teams) has been very, very strong, thanks to the IPL. But when you see two teams going hard at each other on the field, getting angry with each other, it is because they fear each other in a cricketing sense and that to me is a lot of respect for your opponent," he said.