MS Dhoni praises Virat Kohli’s captaincy

The charismatic Indian skipper, Virat Kohli, might just have shut down all of his critics that doubted his ability to score in Test matches in England. The Dehli-born batsman made his entrance to the international arena back in 2008, and has gradually risen over the years to become one of the best batters the game has ever seen.

He is currently on national duty for India against England in the Test series, where he scored 149 and 51 in the 1st Test of the five-match series in Birmingham.

The 29-year-old had a poor Test series against England in the tour of UK back in 2014, but has overcome his weaknesses this time around. Scoring an accumulated 200 runs across both innings of the Test match out of India’s accumulated total of 436 in the Test match shows the team’s dependency on their captain.

As a result of his performance at Edgbaston, Kohli also became the number one ranked Test batsman in the world, becoming the first Indian batsman to top the Test rankings after the great Sachin Tendulkar did in 2011. Kohli’s long-time compatriot, MS Dhoni, recently praised the 29-year-old’s captaincy skills and his happiness for his success.

“Virat is the best. He has reached a status where he is close to legend status. I am very happy for him. The way he has batted everywhere and the last few years he has been brilliant taking the team forward. That’s what you want from a leader. All the best to him and very well done,” the former Indian skipper said in an event in Mumbai.

MS Dhoni was also impressed by India’s brilliant show with the ball, as they managed to pick up 20 wickets at Edgbaston. He applauded the bowler’s efforts and laid emphasis on the importance of picking up all of the 20 wickets to win a Test match.

“To win a Test match you need 20 wickets. And we did that. That’s all I will say. It doesn’t matter how well you bat and how well you are there for five days but if you take 20 wickets, you can win a Test match,” the 37-year-old concluded.

After losing the first Test match at Edgbaston in a low-scoring thriller, the Men in Blue will be hoping to perform well when they head over to the iconic ground of Lord’s for their next Test, which begins on 9th of August.