Virat Kohli the Captain in ODIs - Stuff of Legends
The GOAT in ODIs for a reason
The pandemic has changed our lives in ways we would have never imagined. A lot of things we took for granted – taking a flight, going to work or school, meeting a stranger etc – have altered beyond recognition. Let’s add Virat Kohli captaining his team to that list.
Earlier this year, Kohli stepped down as RCB’s and India’s T20I captain – citing workload challenges. And now, while announcing teams for the tour of South Africa – Kohli was removed (or did he request for it?) as the ODI captain, with Rohit Sharma taking over the mantle.
Kohli’s first stint with captaincy in ODIs came in 2013 in a tri-series tournament between India, Sri Lanka, and West Indies. He had a few more run-ins with captaincy in 2013 and 2014, before being officially appointed captain in January 2017. And what a run it has been.
India under Virat Kohli in ODIs
In terms of win percentage, Virat Kohli is comfortably the best captain India has ever had. In fact one of the greatest in all of ODIs. Among the 60 captains in history of ODIs to have captained at least 50 matches for their team, Virat Kohli has the 4th best win percentage of 68.42%. The only ones ahead of him are Clive Lloyd, Ricky Ponting and Hansie Cronje.
While he doesn’t have a landmark win, i.e. an ICC tournament (Which everyone else in the Top 5 has, btw), he lead the team to series wins in South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. At Home, India lost just the one series under Kohli – against Australia in early 2019.
Among Indians, he is the only captain with a win %age of above 60%, and the first one to win a series in South Africa
Virat Kohli the Batsman – Captain vs Non-Captain
This is where things start hitting legendary levels for Kohli. Kohli the batsman blossomed when he played as captain. When he started out as a captain, his average was his average was 53.42, and has increased by 6 points since. He has scored 44.77% of his career runs as a captain, in just 37.14% of the innings. The difference in his average as a captain and non-captain is 21.35 – The highest among any captain in history of ODIs.
Virat Kohli is one of just 8 batsmen to have scored 5000+ runs as a captain. He averages 72.65, which is 30 points more than the next best batsman in this cohort (Ricky Ponting – 42.91). Among all players to have played at least 50 matches as captain, he still comes on top – 9 points clear of the next best (AB De Villiers – 63.94).
He has 48 50+ scores as a captain, the 3rd highest behind Ricky Ponting (73) and MS Dhoni (53). However, he has a 50+ score every 1.8 innings he batted as a captain – The only batsman with a frequency of less than 2 matches. The next best is AB De Villiers (again!) at 2.45.
In Wins
Let’s take Kohli’s legendary run as a captain up a notch. Though he has the 5th most number of runs as a captain, he leapfrogs to 2nd for most runs as a captain in wins – only behind Ricky Ponting. And his average? A Bradmanesque 87.72 – The best among all captains (with at least 20 Wins in their career). The next best is, you guessed that right, AB De Villiers (80.94)
The difference in averages between wins and losses further accentuates how Kohli rose to the occasion as a captain. Only Sachin Tendulkar has a higher average difference in wins and losses as a captain (52.55 to Kohli’s 48.87).
Kohli’s Innings Progression
Kohli became a more confident and aggressive batter with his ascension to captaincy (Age & experience is a factor too for this metamorphosis). His overall strike rate is 98.28 as a captain, and 89.39 as a non-captain. Both are phenomenal numbers for a No.3 ODI batter, but he got a lot better with the responsibility under his shoulder.
As captain, he tended to start faster and be more brutal at the death – while maintaining a steady strike rate in the middle-overs. As non-captain, his strike rate saw a steady increase, especially post the 25th over mark. He also faced more balls per innings as a captain (60.92 – compared to 48.81 as non-captain). The added responsibility, perhaps, made him go through the middle-overs with more caution, before absolutely blasting off towards the end.
Although he hasn’t scored a century in any format for the past two years, Kohli was never out of form in ODIs. He averages 46.66 since 2020 in ODIs, with 7 50s in just 12 innings. One can’t say that Kohli would do “better” with the load of captaincy of his shoulders (For he literally was at his best as a captain).
However, the shift in captaincy to Rohit Sharma could ease the mental burden that Kohli had been carrying all these years. We could see him entering another one of his purple patches soon. And with the 2023 ODI World Cup not much far away, the Indian fans would love to see one. An in-form Kohli is just better for the World of Cricket, in general.
All hail the King! Brilliantly crafted article btw. It reminds me of the Vince McMahon reaction meme (if you don't know it, trust me, look it up), every new Kohli stat is a new McMahon level.
A 50+ score every 1.9 innings? Are you sure that's right? Insane stat that