Virat Kohli dragged back into past captaincy controversy by Ex-India coach

Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar has said Virat Kohli should have continued as the Test captain for a longer period. The batting stalwart's captaincy tenure with the Indian team came to an end in January 2022.

Virat Kohli was removed as the limited-overs captain after the 2021 T20 World Cup where India failed to progress to the semifinal. However, many expected him to continue as the Test captain for a longer period. After being sacked as the T20I and ODI captain, Virat Kohli was the captain of the Test team for the 2021-22 tour of South Africa.

However, he decided to step down as the Test captain immediately after the series against South Africa ended. A day after India lost the series 1-2, the right-handed batsman resigned as the Test captain, leaving the cricketing world shocked. Rohit Sharma replaced Kohli as the captain across formats.

Even though India have done well in all three formats under Rohit's captaincy so far, Sanjay Bangar believes Kohli should have continued to lead the Test team. Speaking on The Rao Podcast, the former India allrounder highlighted that Kohli emphasized on doing well overseas. Bangar said that Kohli worked hard on himself and led the team from the front in Tests.

"I personally feel that he should have continued for longer as a Test captain because he probably captained India in 65 Test matches, and one of the things I feel is that he could have probably continued as a Test captain for a longer period," said Bangar.

"Virat was driven with the fact that India had to improve their performances overseas. Because in India we knew that whether anybody is there or not, with all due respect to the opposition, if you come to India, India is winning 75 per cent of the time. You'll really have to play poorly to lose in India."

"He himself achieved enormous levels of fitness and challenged his physical limits to the hilt. He worked the hardest. I think he scored the maximum runs during that period as a captain and he had that drive," he added.

Sanjay Bangar said, "Virat Kohli could've continued to be the Test captain for a little longer". (The Rao Podcast).pic.twitter.com/VcHgpOzVrG

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 25, 2024

Virat Kohli's record as Test captain:

Virat Kohli is one of India's most successful captains in the longest format of the game. Under his captaincy, India not only moved to the top of the ICC rankings but also registered several historic wins away from India. India won the Test series in Sri Lanka in 2015, West Indies in 2016, Sri Lanka in 2017, Australia (2-1) in 2018-19 and West Indies in 2019 with Kohli as the captain.

He led India in a total of 68 Tests. Of the 68 games, India won 40 and lost 17 while 11 ended in draws. 16 of the 40 wins came outside India. In 2021, he also led India to the final of the World Test Championship. He is also the first Indian captain to lead the team to 30 or more Test victories.