PUNE: Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir lauded India skipper Virat Kohli' test captaincy after the latter successfully led India towards their 11th-straight Test series win at home on Sunday.
Virat Kohli led India to an innings and 137-run win in the second Test against South Africa in Pune on Sunday. South Africa were dismissed for 189 after following-on, with Virat registering his seventh double ton in Test format.
After the win, former India batsman Gautam Gambhir lauded Kohli's captaincy and explained what sets him apart from his predecessors.
"If you are scared of losing, you will never win and probably that's the biggest plus he has, he isn't scared of losing," Gambhir said in the post-match show.
Gambhir, who has played alongside Kohli in international cricket said that when it comes to winning Kohli is a notch above the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni – widely regarded as all-time greatest India captains.
“We talk about Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni, but what Virat has created, India has started winning overseas as well,” Gautam Gambhir asserted.
"He's taken that risk, which a lot of other captains have not been able to take. The others always wanted an extra batter so that he they don't lose the test match. Whereas, Virat is the only captain who has gone abroad and played with five bowlers, with Hardik Pandya being an all-rounder," Gambhir further said.
Since Kohli became the Test captain in 2014, India have lost only two series. One was in their 2017/18 tour of South Africa, while the other came in England in 2018. Under Kohli’s leadership, India registered their maiden Test series win in Down Under on their tour to Australia in 2018/19.
In just 50 matches as the Test captain, Kohli has led the team to victory in 30 matches and has a spectacular win percentage of above 58, the highest among other present Test captains. While Dhoni has 27 wins under his belt in 60 matches, Ganguly captained India to 21 wins in 49 matches.