Growth of Virat Kohli as a Leader

“It’s a Joy to watch Virat Kohli. He can break my records” – Sachin Tendulkar.

When the worlds all-time greatest batsman makes this statement, it’s not something out of the air.

Today Virat Kohli is Worlds no 1 batsmen in ODI format, amongst top 10 in tests and top ranked player in T20 format too.

We have loved Virat Kohli as a batsman. It’s a treat to watch him play, his techniques and style stands unique to all the batsmen. Yet players like the great Viv Richards has quoted that “I love watching Virat Kohli play. He reminds me of myself”

With all the records in his name, being the fastest batsmen to score 20000 runs, ahead of Sachin Tendulkar, it stands to say that World is seeing the legend play.

But today I will be talking about my view about Virat Kohli as a Captain.

Virat Kohli was appointed the Captain of Indian Cricket team, for Test format in 2014 and ODI in 2017, both when Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped down from the position.

When Virat Kohli took hold of the position, the team consisted of very new players, and players who were just establishing themselves in the team.

That’s when he took the charge to build India as the top cricketing team in the world.

Today under his captaincy, India has the top ranked batsmen, bowlers and is the top ranked test team and 2nd ranked ODI team. Very few Indian Captains have been able to achieve this feat.

But what really makes Virat Kohli such a great captain, according to my observations,

1)     Natural Aggression – When Kohli took charge as a captain, a lot was said about his aggressive style. But that raw energy has today helped India reached this position. Kohli is upbeat, energetic and has his own style to deal with things on the field. And this uniqueness makes India take risky decisions which has come as a blessing. So for people who compare him with the calmness of Dhoni, please don’t, each one has his own personality and style of leadership.

2)     Leading a young squad - Indian team was full of youngsters and new players. India needed someone to channelize that young energy and Kohli manages to do it perfectly.

Players like Bumrah, who is today worlds no 1 bowler, rose under his captaincy. Virat has always supported his bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shami, Chahl, Kuldeep Yadav, which makes India having the strongest bowling squad in this world cup.

3)     Respecting others – It is no secret that Virat Kohli, till date respects the seniors in the team, along with Dhoni. He still considers and takes Dhoni’s opinions on field. He has never shied away from praising Dhoni and his importance for the team even in Media. He is also always seen enjoying and having fun time with his team mates. Just yesterday, he was seen chatting with a 87 year old fan after the match. This shows his attitude and respect.

4)     Performer – it has been regularly seen that a captain, under pressure has always fallen short of his individual performance. But, its different for Kohli. After taking the leadership position, he has doubled his performance and broken unlimited batting records. Very few captains in the world had the attitude to achieve this feat.

5)     Space to individual players – It has always been seen that Kohli, gives space and creative and performing independence to his players. This helps them explore and bring out the best in themselves. He always encourages the team even after a defeat.

6)     Self-Belief - The best quality in a leader can be believing in oneself. And that passion can be seen in Kohli’s eyes. What people call anger is his passion for his game, and the belief in himself that he can perform and make India the best team.

I really believe that each one has his own style of leadership and Virat Kohli has his own. He has proven himself as not only a great batsman but one of the most successful Indian captains, in all formats, that India has ever seen.

Coming to the semi-finals of the world cup, it will be fair to say that, India is seeing one of the all times best team under a very capable and powerful Captain. India is blessed to have you Virat Kohli. Lets support India and wish team India luck and hope Virat Kohli and his team return with the cup.