Virat Kohli stepped down from his position as Test captain of India after the Test series defeat against South Africa. Kohli’s decision to quit captaincy stunned his teammate Shardul Thakur as well.
Shardul, in an interview with ‘The Indian Express’, has stated that Kohli had an exceptional record as a Test captain. The team did well under his leadership even on overseas tours and hence no one had anticipated that he would step down from Test captaincy.
“It was an emotional moment for everyone. No one expected that he would resign from Test captaincy. We did well under his captaincy, especially overseas. Those series we lost overseas were close ones,” Shardul Thakur said.
That’s how much Virat Kohli valued Shardul Thakur’s contribution to this Test win. An extra tight embrace to the man who should be player of the match #EngvIND pic.twitter.com/HIMyaNOPZD
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) September 6, 2021
Virat Kohli led India in 68 Test matches, winning 40 of them, which is a significantly better record than any other Indian captain. His achievements as a Test captain would be difficult for anyone to emulate.
Who will be India’s next Test captain?
Rohit Sharma is the frontrunner to become the new Test captain after replacing Ajinkya Rahane as the team’s vice-captain for the longest format, in December 2021. However, Rohit has been troubled by injuries throughout his career. Keeping that in mind, selectors might look for some other option like KL Rahul.
Another name that can be considered for the role is of Rishabh Pant. He is only 24 years old and has the potential to be a long-term leader for the team. He would also be a regular in the playing XI courtesy of his heroics with the bat and drastic improvement in wicketkeeping skills.
Pant is also someone who is unfazed by criticism and is capable of handling the pressure of being the India captain. In IPL 2021, the wicketkeeper-batsman guided the Delhi Capitals to the play-offs.