Not being captain could see Kohli break more records: Ponting
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting opined that even though it was shocking to see Virat Kohli stepping down as India Test captain, it could see the 33-year-old breaking more records with less burden on his shoulders.
"He is 33 years of age now and he will want to continue playing for a few more years I am sure and have a crack at breaking some records that he is not far off breaking. Maybe if he does that as a batter and without the extra responsibility of captaincy, it might make it a bit easier for him," Ponting said in the first episode of 'The ICC Review'.
Ponting, one of the most successful captains ever, hailed Kohli for his leadership skills, saying that under him India had improved their overseas record by winning more Tests abroad than before.
The Australian also mentioned that Kohli's decision to step down as captain did shock him.
"Yes, it did actually (surprise me)…I was shocked… Probably the main reason why is I had a chat and good catch-up with Virat during the first part of the IPL (2021) before it got postponed," he added.
"He was talking then about stepping away (from captaincy) from white-ball cricket and how passionate he was to continue on to be Test match captain. He just loved and cherished that job and that post so much. When I heard it, I was really, really surprised."
Ponting said given his Test record as captain, Kohli can walk away from the role very proud of what he has achieved.
No other Indian skipper has captained India in more Tests (68) or won more matches (40) than Kohli. India lost just five of the 24 series under his captaincy.
At home, India didn't lose a single series with Kohli as captain. In fact, they lost just two out of 31 matches.
Away from home, Kohli's India won 16 out of 36 matches, with an impressive win percentage of 44.44, the highest for an Indian or Asian captain who has led their team in at least 10 matches.
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