Former Australia captain Ian Chappell was all praise for Team India skipper Virat Kohli and how the Indian cricket team has grown under his watch. According to Chappell, Kohli's knack of leading from the front inspires the team to do well and the people surrounding him expect good things to happen when he is around.
The 76-year-old feels that Kohli's versatility deserves a lot of credit and that has brought in a winning mentality in the team.
"As their captain in all three international formats, the versatile Virat Kohli deserves a lot of credit for creating this winning mentality. When a captain leads a side successfully on a regular basis, especially by occasionally plucking victory from the jaws of defeat, the team begin to believe he is a miracle worker. Kohli has earned the respect of the team as an inspiring leader and they expect good things to happen with him in charge," Chappell wrote in his coloumn for espncricinfo.
However, he added that Kohli's first impression as a captain wasn't great and he thought that the now 31-year-old's emotional temperament would be detrimental to his leadership.
"When he first became captain, especially of the Test team, I thought his highly emotional temperament might be detrimental to his leadership. Instead, he has ensured his emotions work for him and not against the team. This is in line with his clear-thinking approach to the game.
To hear Kohli talk about batting, and particularly his rationale for eschewing the innovative short-form shots (he doesn't want them to corrupt his Test-match style), is to listen to a master who comprehends his craft," Chappell wrote.
The former Aussie skipper was also all praise for how he brought a change in the mentality of the players with his strive for fitness.
"As a captain, Kohli has led the way in many aspects of the game in addition to his incredible batting feats. His fitness, and insistence on high fielding standards, have resulted in India being a much improved side in both these aspects of the game," Chappell felt.
The senior of the Chappell brothers even pointed out that Rohit Sharma has benefited from Kohli's self-belief and that was there for everyone to see during the Hamiton T20I when Rohit smacked two back to back sixes in the Super Over to earn India a victory.
"The fact that he has "finished off" so many of India's victory opportunities has been an inspiration to other players to adopt a similar mentality. Rohit Sharma, in particular, has benefited from Kohli's example, and his two sixes in the first Super Over win against New Zealand this week were a classic example of how self-belief has spread through the team," Chappell concluded.
