"Look at Virat Kohli's numbers, they aren't good"- Aaron Finch's no-nonsense verdict
Published - 18 May 2025, 12:37 PM | Updated - 18 May 2025, 12:49 PM
Former Australian skipper, Aaron Finch, praised Virat Kohli for his selflessness in prioritizing the team’s success in Test cricket over his milestone.
Finch underlined that Virat Kohli’s Test skipper was just exceptional, and his ability to put the team over any milestone makes him India’s biggest Test skipper.
Read also: Virat Kohli labelled Stingy by Ishant Sharma
Aaron Finch backs Virat Kohli
Aaron Finch backed Kohli for backing spin-friendly pitches in India making his captaincy tenure the biggest of any other Indian skipper.
"What really stands out to me about Virat's leadership is that you can look at his numbers now and say they're not as good as they were five years ago. But he was playing on some wickets in India that were spinning hugely from day one.
"It was about putting your own ego aside to say, 'What's the best thing for my team right now to win a Test match against this opposition?'" Finch said on JioStar ahead of the RCB vs KKR IPL match.
Kohli put his ego aside and ensured to make challenging pitches for the overseas teams at home. He retired from red-ball cricket as India’s most successful Test skipper in Test cricket.
India won 40 Tests out of 68 matches under Kohli and lost just 17 games. India dominated every team at home as they became the first team to win consecutive 11-Test series at home under Kohli’s tenure.
Aaron Finch puts Virat Kohli on the all-time greats list
The former Australian player accepted that the latter part of Kohli’s Test career did not match his level, but he never told curators to make flat pitches at home to cash in his runs and form.
Kohli backed the wickets that are favorable for bowlers and didn’t complain about the pitches in Australia, England, and South Africa.
"They could have rolled out some flat wickets and said, 'I'm going to cash in on my own runs and make sure that my record stacks up with some of the all-time greats,' but he put his own ego aside and said, 'I want what's best for my team to win this match,'" Finch added.
Kohli’s record at the no. 4 position was just brilliant. His authority in that position puts his team ahead in crunch moments.
Kohli was the replacement after Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar retired from Test cricket he also played at the no. 4 position, and Kohli assured his authority at the number.
Downfall in the last stage of Kohli’s Test career
Virat Kohli maintained an average of above 50 in his Test career, but in the last five years of his Test career, he only managed one time to pass the 50 average in the red-ball format.
Kohli scored just two centuries in his last three years of Test career. Kohli stepped down from the captaincy role in 2022 and after that, his downfall started in Test cricket.
Kohli, as Test captain, has a much better average compared to Kohli as a Test player. His aggression and leading the side in the long format were always special to watch.
