In 2021, Virat Kohli stepped down as India’s T20I captain, which was soon followed by him vacating the position in the ODIs and Tests as well. He left the post without an ICC trophy under his leadership, but former off-spinner Harbhajan Singh believes that doesn’t make Kohli a “lesser captain”.
Speaking to ‘Sports Yaari’ in an interview, Harbhajan said Team India is now reaping benefits of the fire that was lit by Kohli during his days as captain.
“Kohli ki kaptaani mei chaahe aap World Cup nahi jeete (you may not have won a World Cup under Kohli’s captaincy), but it doesn’t make him a lesser captain or lesser player,” said Harbhajan, one of the best spinners India has produced.
Harbhajan went on to explain that Kohli instilled the belief of taking a challenge head on and to not go down without a fight. He cited the example of the third and fourth Tests during the 2020-21 tour Australia when India clinched the Border Gavaskar Trophy with a heroic finish.
Kohli, however, had to leave the four-Test series after the first match for the birth of his child, handing over the mantle to Ajinkya Rahane.
“Jo usne aag lagayi na team mei (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,” Harbhajan said.
India entered the third Test in Sydney on that tour with the series locked at 1-1. Set a daunting target of 408 to chase in the fourth innings, India sent a scare down in the Aussie camp before ending up with 334 for 5. The match ended in a draw.
“…it takes a lot of guts and brain, which Kohli has instilled in the team. So every person has left his legacy,” said the 44-year-old Harbhajan, who now wears the hat of a commentator.
He then mentioned the knocks played by Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant in the fourth Test at the Gabba, which India won by three wickets while chasing a target of over 300 to clinch the series.
While Gill contributed 91 runs, Pant’s iconic 89 not out took India to a famous victory.
“That determination to fight till the end, which Shubman and Rishabh showed to win that Test in Gabba. It was because the way the team’s thinking changed,” Harbhajan concluded.