The fire that he ignited – Harbhajan Singh lauds Virat Kohli’s captaincy

Virat Kohli’s stint as an Indian captain didn’t see him win an ICC event, but the kind of mindset that he instilled in the team was absolutely incredible. Ever since he took over the reins of the Indian cricket team, the spectacle changed diametrically. India were no longer going for draws in the SENA nations, they wanted to win.

Hailing Virat Kohli’s legendary stint as the Indian captain, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh highlighted how the former’s attitude completely changed the landscape for Team India. He also credited Virat for the iconic win at Gabba where India rose from the ashes of 36 all out to lift the Border-Gavaskar Trophy twice Down Under.

As quoted by the Times of India, Harbhajan Singh in an interview with Sports Yaari, said, “You may not have won a World Cup under Kohli's captaincy but it doesn't make him a lesser captain or lesser player. The fire that he ignited in the team, like it may be a target of 400 in the fourth innings of a Test, we'll go for the chase, we won't panic. If we go down, we do it while chasing. It takes a lot of guts and brain, which Kohli has instilled in the team.”

He further added, “The determination to fight till the end, which Shubman (Gill) and Rishabh (Pant) showed to win that Test in Gabba. It was because of the way the team's thinking changed.”

As Virat Kohli gears up for the upcoming Kiwi challenge after a silent outing against Bangladesh barring the second Test match, where he played the tempo of the game perfectly, he will be hoping to return to bigger numbers, particularly considering the fact that the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be up next.