DTVHINDI
The great thing you did was that you (Kohli) created a very strong bowling unit – Gautam Gambhir
A new era of Indian Test cricket began under Virat Kohli’s captaincy. India won 40 out of 68 Test matches, which is the most Test matches won by any Indian captain in history. Kohli changed the nature of the team and focused on the growth of fast bowlers.
During Virat Kohli’s tenure, bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav dominated in overseas conditions. Meanwhile, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir has praised Virat Kohli for building a strong bowling line-up during his tenure.
Virat has created a strong bowling unit – Gautam Gambhir
During a conversation with BCCI, Gautam Gambhir told Virat Kohli,
The great thing you did was that you built a very strong bowling unit. Test matches are won by taking 20 wickets. Unless you have a strong bowling line-up (one cannot win) and that is what makes you the most successful Test captain of the country. Credit goes to you. As a batsman, it is easy to have a strong six, seven batsmen, but the way you identified and more importantly, your attitude on the field with the fast bowlers. Winning overseas with bowlers like Shami, Bumrah, Ishant, Umesh.
Under the leadership of Virat Kohli, India has won Test matches in England, South Africa and Australia, where the team used to struggle earlier. Let us tell you, Team India was number-1 in the ICC Test rankings from 2017-2021.
Bumrah is the most complete bowler across all formats: Virat Kohli
Talking about the bowling culture of Team India, Virat Kohli emphasized that Ishant Sharma has played more than 100 Test matches for India. While Zaheer Khan is one of the legendary players. He described Bumrah as an all-format bowler and Mohammed Shami as the most important player in the Test team.
When you talk about Ishant Sharma, the first thing that comes to my mind is the match he played against Ricky Ponting (during the 2007-08 tour) in Perth. If you talk about his cricket career, Ishant Sharma has played more than 100 Test matches for India. Zaheer Khan has taken a lot of wickets for India in Test cricket and was brilliant in the 50-over World Cup. Mohammed Shami is not a world famous bowler because he is a great T20 bowler. He is one of the best Test bowlers in the world and what he did in the 50-over World Cup has increased his importance even more. Bumrah is the most complete bowler in all formats.
