Virat Kohli's biggest plus is he isn't scared of losing, says Gautam Gambhir
Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir heaped praises on Indian captain Virat Kohli as he said that Kohli will risk losing in order to try to win the game is something that sets him apart from others. India registered a record 11th straight home series win by beating South Africa in Pune.
India beat South Africa by an innings and 137 runs in Pune to register an 11th straight series win at home. Virat Kohli was absolutely magnificent first with his double hundred and then with his attacking captaincy. He tried to go for the kill with men around the bat looking to grab every opportunity. Gautam Gambhir had all praises for him and had a lot to say about the character of the Indian captain.
"If you are scared of losing, you will never win and that's probably the biggest plus he has, he isn't scared of losing," Gambhir said on a program for the official broadcaster.
Amazingly, India have lost only two test series overall in Kohli's full-time captaincy. While they faced defeats in South Africa and England, they beat Australia and West Indies away from home. Gambhir insists that Kohli is the real deal as he has won an overseas series.
"We talk about Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni, but what Virat has created, India has started winning overseas as well," he said.
Gambhir particularly pointed out Kohli's ability to not playing safe. While any other captain would have played and had already played in the past with an extra batsman, Kohli focused on taking 20 wickets to win a test match by playing extra bowler or an all-rounder like Hardik Pandya.
"He's taken that risk, which a lot of other captains have not been able to take. The others always wanted an extra batter so that he they don't lose the Test match. Whereas, Virat is the only captain who has gone abroad and played with five bowlers, with Hardik Pandya being an all-rounder," said Gambhir.
He singled out one incident where Kohli took the risk of dropping a spinner and playing four quicks along with Hardik Pandya on that spicy Johannesburg wicket where India registered a memorable win, something that Gambhir believes no other Indian captain would have done.
"There was Hardik Pandya and four other fast bowlers. He has taken that gamble and he has succeeded," he signed off.
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