Indian superstar Virat Kohli is arguably the greatest cricket player of the modern era.
With close to 25,000 runs across all three international formats, Kohli has transcended the game and found great success against both the red and white ball.
But it is perhaps his tenure as captain that will never be topped, holding the record for most victories with the big ‘C’ next to his name for India.
While his time in the role finished, the 34-year-old remains an integral part of the Indian side heading into a massive four-game series against Australia.
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Kohli’s record as skipper of the Test side returned 39 victories from 66 matches, with his overall win percentage across all three formats also more than any Indian leader in history.
Is Virat Kohli India’s best Test captain?
According to statistics, Virat Kohli is indeed India’s greatest Test captain.
With 39 victories from 66 attempts, Kohli holds the record for the most wins as Indian Test skipper, surpassing his predecessor MS Dhoni, who captained the side to 27 victories.
Kohli also took India from 7th in the ICC Test rankings in 2014, all the way to the top of the rankings by the time he stepped down from the role in January 2022.
The 34-year-old also scored the most runs in Test cricket as captain of any Indian player in history with 5,864. The only players across the world stage who sit ahead of Kohli in this statistic are Graeme Smith, Allan Border and Ricky Ponting.
Kohli’s average of 54.80 with the bat as captain is the most of any skipper in Test history with over 50 games in the role. The right-hander also scored a remarkable 20 Test centuries during his tenure as skipper.
Virat Kohli’s captaincy statistics
There are plenty of major highlights from Virat Kohli’s time as Test captain, both from an Indian perspective and on the international stage.
Some of the standout statistics from Kohli’s reign as skipper include:
- Most wins as Indian Test captain – 39
- Highest winning percentage as Indian captain – 63.38%
- Most runs as Indian Test captain – 5,864
- Highest score as Indian Test captain – 254* vs South Africa
- Highest average as Test captain (more than 50 games) – 54.80
- Only Indian captain to score two centuries in captaincy debut – 115 & 141 vs Australia
- 100% winning record at home as Test captain
Virat Kohli’s Test captaincy career record
| Matches | Wins | Runs | Average | High Score |
| 66 | 39 | 5,864 | 54.80 | 254* |