5 Indian Players Whose Careers Flourished Under Virat Kohli’s Captaincy

Virat Kohli was often criticized for not giving fair chances to the players and for making a host of changes in the Indian team. In this article, we will talk about five players whose careers flourished under Virat Kohli's captaincy.

5 Indian Players Whose Careers Flourished Under Virat Kohli’s Captaincy

1. Mohammed Shami

Kohli played a crucial role in helping Mohammed Shami grow as a bowler, especially in test cricket.

Shami, who made a staggering comeback in whites in 2016 after recovering from a knee injury that he sustained during the 2015 ODI World Cup, has been a crucial part of the test setup since then.

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Shami played a vital role in helping India register their first series win in 71 years on Australian soil in 2018 and has been lethal with the old ball in home conditions.

2. Ishant Sharma

One of the most experienced bowlers in India's fast bowling department during Kohli's tenure, Ishant Sharma, is considered one of the most improved bowlers under Virat's captaincy.

Although the veteran had played close to eight years of international cricket before Kohli took over, Ishant took his game to another level post-2018 when he went to play county cricket.

Rewards of which were reaped in the subsequent tour of England, where he led from the front and was well supported by Bumrah and Shami.

3. Jasprit Bumrah

One of the biggest decisions of Kohli, the captain, was the inclusion of Jasprit Bumrah in the test squad for the tour of South Africa in 2018, which was followed by adding him to the playing XI for the first test.

The move raised quite a few eyebrows as experts said that it would be difficult for Bumrah to survive in test cricket, given his unusual action.

But the duo of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri backed their plan, and the fast bowler fulfilled the faith shown in him by the coach and the captain.

Since then, Bumrah has gone on to become the leader of India's fast bowling attack, which was on show during the tour of Australia last year.

4. Mohammed Siraj

Although Mohammed Siraj hasn't played a lot of test matches under Virat Kohli, the Indian captain was the one who backed him during his day at RCB, which transpired into him making his debut in the second test against Australia in 2020

Siraj was able to put on a strong show with the ball and became the leader of the attack by the end of the series.

With India fielding an inexperienced bowling attack in the last match in Brisbane, Siraj took the responsibility of picking wickets with the new ball and ended up with a five-wicket haul.

5. Rohit Sharma

Former Indian test captain Rohit Sharma received a lot of backing from Virat Kohli as he wanted to get the best out of him, owing to which he decided to make Rohit Sharma open the innings.

The move to open the batting with Rohit paid rich dividends as the right-hander got a new lease of life in test cricket and made that particular spot his own.

Rohit played a number of crucial innings as an opener, but two of his match-defining innings came against England in 2021.