"Virat Kohli's captaincy played a big role in turning Indian test cricket around" - Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting hailed Virat Kohli for his exceptional leadership of the Indian test team.

Legendary Australian captain Ricky Ponting has lauded veteran cricketer Virat Kohli for his inspirational leadership, which, the Aussie said, played a huge role in turning Indian test cricket around.

After Dhoni’s sudden retirement on the test tour of Australia in 2014/15, Virat Kohli took charge of the team. The 35-year-old Kohli went on to captain the Indian side in 68 test matches. Under him, India won 40 games, lost 17 games, and drew 11 matches.

Under Kohli’s leadership, India became the first Asian side to win a test series in Australia in 2018-19 before winning another series in 2020-21 under Ajinkya Rahane.

Kohli’s leadership in test cricket saw India’s dominance on overseas tours. They were also the runners-up in the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship under Kohli.

Kohli’s captaincy played a big role in turning the Indian cricket: Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting, who won four ICC titles as an Australia captain, lavished praise on Kohli for developing India’s fast bowling depth. Ponting further hailed former India head coach Rahul Dravid for continuing the same during his tenure.

“Their fast-bowling depth is great. The leadership in the last 6-7 years has been strong, going back to Kohli’s start of captaincy, played a big role in turning the cricket around and Dravid has continued the same in the recent four years. The influence of someone like that [Kohli] around a team would be great and they’ve got star players,” Ponting told Sky Sports in an interview.

India will travel to Australia for the upcoming high-voltage Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which will be played from November 2024 to January 2025. The Indian side will be aiming for a hat-trick of series wins on Australian soil on their upcoming tour.

On the other hand, Australia will be eager to take revenge on India by winning their first Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years. Australia last won the BGT during the 2014-15 series at home.

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