Can Virat Kohli match or surpass Imran Khan as a leader?

[Dead Ball]

Imran Khan is pretty much the gold standard of leaders in the cricketing world. No words left to describe how he inspired bowlers and his team to compete hard and win tests abroad, ultimately culminating in the unforgettable 1992 WC win.

I make this Kohli comparison because in 2018, he has managed to achieve two unprecedented feats in India cricket history. While he lead with the bat to win India the first ever ODI series in SA absolutely dominating Rabada and co., In Australia he lead India to the first ever series win in nearly 70 years ! While he may not have been at his best with the bat in Australia, he still did score a chanceless 123 on a tricky wicket in Perth under pressure, which was arguably the best knock of the series despite it coming in a losing cause.

Personally, he also managed to get rid of the monkey on his back in England and dominated the run scoring charts there. His captaincy was questionable in the England series although he seems to have learnt something from his mistakes and showed better leadership in Australia.

In terms of team selection, he seems to have found great long term prospects in Mayank Agarwal, Jaspit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant. His stress on India having a competitive bowling attack is very refreshing.

The current Indian team seems to have a lot of faith in Kohli the leader, and with the bat he seems to be getting better and better. I think if he can go on and win India a WC as captain , and win a test series in SA (India's final frontier) in the next away cycle...he will be right up there with Imran as one of the greatest leaders in cricket history.

Thoughts ?

 

[TM Riddle]

Imran Khan as a captain is overrated on this forum. An ATG without a doubt but his exploits as a leader has been exaggerated a tad bit perhaps due to his post cricket achievements.
Having said that, Kohli has a long way to go to match him in that department. Don't let the series win in Australia fool you. I'm still not sold out on him and imo we missed a great chance to beat South Africa in their own backyard solely because of his idiotic decisions.

 

[TM Riddle]

Although one thing I gotta give it to Kohli is the belief he has shown in our fast bowlers. Unlike Dhoni he shows trust in his pacers and the results are for everyone to see.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

I don't think that kohli can surpass imran khan as leader, in test matches kohli may become good but in lois i don't think he will ever be as good as imran.

 

[topspin]

Imran Khan as a captain is overrated on this forum. An ATG without a doubt but his exploits as a leader has been exaggerated a tad bit perhaps due to his post cricket achievements.
Having said that, Kohli has a long way to go to match him in that department. Don't let the series win in Australia fool you. I'm still not sold out on him and imo we missed a great chance to beat South Africa in their own backyard solely because of his idiotic decisions.

4 drawn away series to the ATG WI side says otherwise. Pakistan was the second best side under Imran Khan, remember second to perhaps the greatest test team of all time. More like underrated actually.

As for Kohli he has a great chance to surpass Imran Khan, series wins in SA and England along with the dominance at home to maintain India's no.1 spot will surely seal him as the undisputed greatest Asian test captain of all time.

 

[Mamoon]

If Indian can sustain its ranking for another 2-3 years and if Kohli can lead them to a World Cup win, he will cement his legacy as the GOAT Asian cricketer.

Both are realistic possibilities. Other than England, I don't see any team challenging India in any format for at least 3-4 years, and Kohli will remain captain till 2023-2024 at least.

This is a wonderful period for Indian fans, and they fully deserve it. What we are witnessing today is the culmination of all the hard work and long-term planning of the BCCI.

 

[happydavy]

4 drawn away series to the ATG WI side says otherwise. Pakistan was the second best side under Imran Khan, remember second to perhaps the greatest test team of all time. More like underrated actually.

As for Kohli he has a great chance to surpass Imran Khan, series wins in SA and England along with the dominance at home to maintain India's no.1 spot will surely seal him as the undisputed greatest Asian test captain of all time.

4 drawn away series with windies? That's why someone used the word overrated, as myths have become perceptions on this forum. Imran captained and drew only 1 away series with windies, and just like in case of Kohli against Australia, the only test Pakistan won was a WI-B team with no Richards and a rookie pace lineup. For all the folklore around Imran's captaincy, you would be surprised to know that Imran won all of 3 test matches outside Asia, as captain. Kohli has won more away test matches in this year itself.

 

[Hasan123]

Needs to stay top of the test rankings for a couple of more years and win the WC. If he does that he would have surpassed Imran.

 

[urnotserious]

LOL, is this a serious question?

Tests:

Imran Khan captained 48 tests, 14 wins, 8 losses, 26 draws.

Virat Kohli captained 46 tests, 26 wins, 10 losses, 10 draws.

Won a series in Australia, something Imran could never do.
Has almost twice the number of wins in the same number of tests.
Virat is so far ahead of Imran here that to question this, you have to view this from green tinted glasses and then close your eyes to all the facts and numbers.


LOI:

Imran Khan captained 139 ODIs, 75 wins, 59 losses. Winning 54% of matches.

Virat Kohli captained 57 ODIs, 42 wins, 13 losses. Winning 73% of matches.

Imran's feather in his cap was that his teams gave West Indies a good fight, Virat's teams ARE the West Indies of today.
Virat has far far far surpassed anything Imran has ever done except for a World cup win as far as ODIs are concerned.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

LOL, is this a serious question?

Tests:

Imran Khan captained 48 tests, 14 wins, 8 losses, 26 draws.

Virat Kohli captained 46 tests, 26 wins, 10 losses, 10 draws.

Won a series in Australia, something Imran could never do.
Has almost twice the number of wins in the same number of tests.
Virat is so far ahead of Imran here that to question this, you have to view this from green tinted glasses and then close your eyes to all the facts and numbers.


LOI:

Imran Khan captained 139 ODIs, 75 wins, 59 losses. Winning 54% of matches.

Virat Kohli captained 57 ODIs, 42 wins, 13 losses. Winning 73% of matches.

Imran's feather in his cap was that his teams gave West Indies a good fight, Virat's teams ARE the West Indies of today.
Virat has far far far surpassed anything Imran has ever done except for a World cup win as far as ODIs are concerned.

This is other end of the spectrum.

 

[shariqnoor]

It depends on how you would look at the role of a captain. If you solely base it on captaincy record, Kohli beats Imran to a pulp.

If you're asking about the overall impact of a captain on a team, Kohli will not be able to reach the heights Imran did.

The real challenge of a captain is to make your team greater than the sum of its parts. When the team is already world class, the captain's role diminishes greatly. Steve Waugh is still not rated a better captain than Allan Border or Mark Taylor despite a freakish captaincy record simply because AB and MT worked with average teams and made them better. AB winning the 1987 World Cup was just like Imran winning the 1992 World Cup. Nobody gave them a chance yet they won with very average teams. Steve Waugh, on the other hand, got a world class team and rode with it. You could've made Damien Martyn captain of that side and that side would've still torpedoed teams all over the globe.

Imran Khan took an average side, inducted youngsters and took that team to incredible heights. Being able to come to within 2 wickets of defeating the great WI team in WI in 1998 with that team was incredible. He left a squad that had 5 match winners (Saeed Anwar, Inzamam, Wasim, Waqar, Mushtaq) which were all his products. And to top it all off, won the World Cup for his country. The impact that he had on his team dwarfs his okayish captaincy record and that is what matters.

Similarly, people would always rate Ganguly ahead of Kohli as the captain despite an inferior record because it was Ganguly who changed the whole mindset of India when touring abroad. He made that team more than the sum of its parts. Kohli is just riding on the wave that Ganguly and Dhoni created. However, this is by no means an attempt to demean Kohli as a captain because his record is fantastic and that counts as well.

But overall, what goes against Kohli is the fact that he didn't inherit a poor team which is why it will be difficult for him to surpass Imran despite a great W/L record.

 

[PerfectionPersonified]

LOL, is this a serious question?

Tests:

Imran Khan captained 48 tests, 14 wins, 8 losses, 26 draws.

Virat Kohli captained 46 tests, 26 wins, 10 losses, 10 draws.

Won a series in Australia, something Imran could never do.
Has almost twice the number of wins in the same number of tests.
Virat is so far ahead of Imran here that to question this, you have to view this from green tinted glasses and then close your eyes to all the facts and numbers.


LOI:

Imran Khan captained 139 ODIs, 75 wins, 59 losses. Winning 54% of matches.

Virat Kohli captained 57 ODIs, 42 wins, 13 losses. Winning 73% of matches.

Imran's feather in his cap was that his teams gave West Indies a good fight, Virat's teams ARE the West Indies of today.
Virat has far far far surpassed anything Imran has ever done except for a World cup win as far as ODIs are concerned.

I mean only 3 months after a shameful defeat (4-1) against England, this indian side is WI of today

I mean literally fell of chair ..India played well against a C grade Aussie down of confidence team and only won the series by merely 32 runs and all of sudden this is WI the GREAT WI.....ahaha


Now go back and watch some GREAT WI team's achievements on YouTube, this forum is for serious people

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

No, he can't.

IK is in another league. Different level.

 

[CricketCartoons]

first he should try to surpass Misbah, then Dhoni before aiming to surpass Imran Khan.

 

[Sachin136]

first he should try to surpass Misbah, then Dhoni before aiming to surpass Imran Khan.

To equal Misbah, Kohli has to draw the upcoming series against Zimbabwe.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

It depends on how you would look at the role of a captain. If you solely base it on captaincy record, Kohli beats Imran to a pulp.

If you're asking about the overall impact of a captain on a team, Kohli will not be able to reach the heights Imran did.

The real challenge of a captain is to make your team greater than the sum of its parts. When the team is already world class, the captain's role diminishes greatly. Steve Waugh is still not rated a better captain than Allan Border or Mark Taylor despite a freakish captaincy record simply because AB and MT worked with average teams and made them better. AB winning the 1987 World Cup was just like Imran winning the 1992 World Cup. Nobody gave them a chance yet they won with very average teams. Steve Waugh, on the other hand, got a world class team and rode with it. You could've made Damien Martyn captain of that side and that side would've still torpedoed teams all over the globe.

Imran Khan took an average side, inducted youngsters and took that team to incredible heights. Being able to come to within 2 wickets of defeating the great WI team in WI in 1998 with that team was incredible. He left a squad that had 5 match winners (Saeed Anwar, Inzamam, Wasim, Waqar, Mushtaq) which were all his products. And to top it all off, won the World Cup for his country. The impact that he had on his team dwarfs his okayish captaincy record and that is what matters.

Similarly, people would always rate Ganguly ahead of Kohli as the captain despite an inferior record because it was Ganguly who changed the whole mindset of India when touring abroad. He made that team more than the sum of its parts. Kohli is just riding on the wave that Ganguly and Dhoni created. However, this is by no means an attempt to demean Kohli as a captain because his record is fantastic and that counts as well.

But overall, what goes against Kohli is the fact that he didn't inherit a poor team which is why it will be difficult for him to surpass Imran despite a great W/L record.

This.

Though Kohli must be credited for transforming Indian bowling with his attitude towards pacers and his energy on the field.

I think the biggest heroes are BCCI for the groundwork they did to create a fast bowling culture in the nation.

 

[speed_thrills]

To equal Misbah, Kohli has to draw the upcoming series against Zimbabwe.

Will also have to lose 0-8 to Eng and Aus touring next to match Dhoni

 

[urnotserious]

I mean only 3 months after a shameful defeat (4-1) against England, this indian side is WI of today

I mean literally fell of chair ..India played well against a C grade Aussie down of confidence team and only won the series by merely 32 runs and all of sudden this is WI the GREAT WI.....ahaha


Now go back and watch some GREAT WI team's achievements on YouTube, this forum is for serious people

I was clearly referring to the ODI team, a team that beat South Africa 5-1 in South Africa.

Let's see how Pakistan performs.

But getting back to the original question, Virat >>>>>>>>>>> Imran.

It isn't even close.

 

[urnotserious]

I mean only 3 months after a shameful defeat (4-1) against England, this indian side is WI of today

I mean literally fell of chair ..India played well against a C grade Aussie down of confidence team and only won the series by merely 32 runs and all of sudden this is WI the GREAT WI.....ahaha


Now go back and watch some GREAT WI team's achievements on YouTube, this forum is for serious people

Oh and Clive Lloyd's West Indies weren't some unbeatable invincibles like a lot of you misguided fans with poor memories seem to convey. West Indies lost to Australia 0-5 in Australia in 1975-76. I guess you don't consider that shameful however India's 1-4 is shameful.

Lloyd captained 74 tests, 36 wins, 12 losses, 26 draws.
Virat has captained 46 tests, 26 wins, 10 losses, 10 draws.

Why dont you realize what you're arguing for and look up some stats instead of YouTube videos reinforcing your incorrect views. Deal? Deal!

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Imran's feather in his cap was that his teams gave West Indies a good fight, Virat's teams ARE the West Indies of today.
Virat has far far far surpassed anything Imran has ever done except for a World cup win as far as ODIs are concerned.

Urnotserious, are you?

 

[urnotserious]

Urnotserious, are you?

Do you have stats to refute or just your opinions?

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Do you have stats to refute or just your opinions?

Yes, because stats are a wonderful way to compare captains from completely different teams and eras.

I wasn't even talking about Kohli vs Imran. India are not nearly as dominant as they should be to be the 'WI of today'.

This Indian team has not won in South Africa, England or New Zealand.

 

[Robert]

Imran Khan is pretty much the gold standard of leaders in the cricketing world. No words left to describe how he inspired bowlers and his team to compete hard and win tests abroad, ultimately culminating in the unforgettable 1992 WC win.

I make this Kohli comparison because in 2018, he has managed to achieve two unprecedented feats in India cricket history. While he lead with the bat to win India the first ever ODI series in SA absolutely dominating Rabada and co., In Australia he lead India to the first ever series win in nearly 70 years ! While he may not have been at his best with the bat in Australia, he still did score a chanceless 123 on a tricky wicket in Perth under pressure, which was arguably the best knock of the series despite it coming in a losing cause.

Personally, he also managed to get rid of the monkey on his back in England and dominated the run scoring charts there. His captaincy was questionable in the England series although he seems to have learnt something from his mistakes and showed better leadership in Australia.

In terms of team selection, he seems to have found great long term prospects in Mayank Agarwal, Jaspit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant. His stress on India having a competitive bowling attack is very refreshing.


Thoughts ?

Dunno how you would quantify that. Test wins? Ponting had plenty but I didn’t think he was a good leader tactically. I don’t think Kohli is much tactically either but like Ponting he inspires his men by getting lots of runs.

Imran didn’t win many tests but there were a lot of draws in those days, because batters knew how to bat all day and save matches instead of blast quick fifties. He won in India with a massive personal input, then in England having led the attack. He was tactically pretty good and able to keep his guys calm under pressure. He was also good a5 identifying players with the right attitude.

 

[PerfectionPersonified]

Yes, because stats are a wonderful way to compare captains from completely different teams and eras.

I wasn't even talking about Kohli vs Imran. India are not nearly as dominant as they should be to be the 'WI of today'.

This Indian team has not won in South Africa, England or New Zealand.

and only beaten C grade Aussie team by 32 runs to secure a series

 

[urnotserious]

Yes, because stats are a wonderful way to compare captains from completely different teams and eras.

I wasn't even talking about Kohli vs Imran. India are not nearly as dominant as they should be to be the 'WI of today'.

This Indian team has not won in South Africa, England or New Zealand.

I'll repeat, I was talking about ODI in particular. But even in tests they aren't as far apart as you think. Lloyd just enjoyed his captaincy for 74 tests which gave him more chances to win after losing. I'll repeat:

Lloyd captained 74 tests, 36 wins, 12 losses, 26 draws.(Includes a 1-5 shellacking by Australia)
Virat has captained 46 tests, 26 wins, 10 losses, 10 draws.(Includes a 1-4 shellacking by England)

But back to topic, Imran? LOL no. Not even close.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Depends. Very difficult to compare. Kohli needs to win a test series in NZ and one of SA/ENG along with a World Cup. Improbable but not impossible.

 

[urnotserious]

Depends. Very difficult to compare. Kohli needs to win a test series in NZ and one of SA/ENG along with a World Cup. Improbable but not impossible.

To equal Imran? Why? Help me understand why Kohli needs to win in Australia, NZ, SA/ENG AND a world cup to equal Imran?

Tests:

Imran Khan captained 48 tests, 14 wins, 8 losses, 26 draws.

Virat Kohli captained 46 tests, 26 wins, 10 losses, 10 draws.


LOI:

Imran Khan captained 139 ODIs, 75 wins, 59 losses. Winning 54% of matches.

Virat Kohli captained 57 ODIs, 42 wins, 13 losses. Winning 73% of matches.

I mean I get that you are on a Pakistani board and you've made friends here over the years, but come on man.

 

[TM Riddle]

Needs to stay top of the test rankings for a couple of more years and win the WC. If he does that he would have surpassed Imran.

WC I get it but how long did Imran's team stay at the top of test rankings to make that comparison valid? If I'm not wrong Kohli's team has already been at the top for last two years now and now you want them to maintain the same consistency for two more years? This doesn't make any sense since I don't remember Imran Khan taking Pakistan to the new heights surpassing others under his captaincy. In fact if I can remember correctly, a pathetic Indian team managed to draw all 4 tests when they toured Pak in 1989-90.
Why do Kohli needs to prove so much to be able to surpass him ?

Mind you I'm not saying Kohli is already better since like I said earlier he has a lot of catching up to do because of the tactical mistakes he often makes. But the reasoning you provided is wrong.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

To equal Imran? Why? Help me understand why Kohli needs to win in Australia, NZ, SA/ENG AND a world cup to equal Imran?

Tests:

Imran Khan captained 48 tests, 14 wins, 8 losses, 26 draws.

Virat Kohli captained 46 tests, 26 wins, 10 losses, 10 draws.


LOI:

Imran Khan captained 139 ODIs, 75 wins, 59 losses. Winning 54% of matches.

Virat Kohli captained 57 ODIs, 42 wins, 13 losses. Winning 73% of matches.

I mean I get that you are on a Pakistani board and you've made friends here over the years, but come on man.

Not to equal . But to be considered the GOAT Asian captain.

 

[Sachin136]

I don't think captaincy can be judged by W/L ratios. But the stats posted above by [MENTION=141144]urnotserious[/MENTION] are enlightening. This is certainly a very special Indian team under Kohli, and it will get even better with Shaw, Gill, etc.

 

[TM Riddle]

I mean only 3 months after a shameful defeat (4-1) against England, this indian side is WI of today

I mean literally fell of chair ..India played well against a C grade Aussie down of confidence team and only won the series by merely 32 runs and all of sudden this is WI the GREAT WI.....ahaha


Now go back and watch some GREAT WI team's achievements on YouTube, this forum is for serious people

We have been number one ranking side for two years now and with this latest win are likely to stay at the top for another year without too much hassle.

Not saying this team is comparable to the great Windies team of yesteryears but this attitude from a fan whose team is a borderline minnow these days reeks of massive insecurity complex.

 

[TM Riddle]

and only beaten C grade Aussie team by 32 runs to secure a series

This C grade Aussie team minus two of their most important bowlers(so basically a P grade Aussie team) managed to draw a test in your fortress.
Have some shame.

 

[ind_win]

First of all, he should keep the idiot shastri away while discussing and taking discussions about the team.
Second, he should avoid egoistic decisions like dropping key players and stop experimenting.
Third, keeping the deadwood away - dhoni, kedar in ODIs and vijay,ashwin,rahul overseas out of the team.
Horses for courses is good but limping horse is not good for anything..

 

[PerfectionPersonified]

We have been number one ranking side for two years now and with this latest win are likely to stay at the top for another year without too much hassle.

Not saying this team is comparable to the great Windies team of yesteryears but this attitude from a fan whose team is a borderline minnow these days reeks of massive insecurity complex.

I never rate this Pakistani Test and ODI side (Yes border line minnows), in T20 they get fluke on and off. However coming back to my point regarding Indian side , no doubt india has been winning at home but this is not even close to compare against the Mighty WI. Winning one away series does not make you a great team . DO it in SA, ENGLAND , heck do it in NZ to even compare. Adelaide test was merely won by 32 runs which contributed to a series win so heck no this is not even close to Great WI

 

[PerfectionPersonified]

This C grade Aussie team minus two of their most important bowlers(so basically a P grade Aussie team) managed to draw a test in your fortress.
Have some shame.

I mean by your logic , Aussie blew away the chance of chasing 188 in 4th Inning 2nd Test, at Bengaluru to lose the series by 2-1 (YES IN YOUR FORTRESS ) They could have done that as well in YOUR fortress. ( 17 series)

I compare this win Pakistani fans got over excited by winning CT17 forgetting they have to improve , the win was a mere fluke .(not saying india won by fluke this series but it is not as big as it has made it to be)

 

[Nikhil_cric]

I mean by your logic , Aussie blew away the chance of chasing 188 in 4th Inning 2nd Test, at Bengaluru to lose the series by 2-1 (YES IN YOUR FORTRESS ) They could have done that as well in YOUR fortress. ( 17 series)

I compare this win Pakistani fans got over excited by winning CT17 forgetting they have to improve , the win was a mere fluke .(not saying india won by fluke this series but it is not as big as it has made it to be)

No current team can beat even this OZ team in OZ the way we have done.

 

[Ami]

An utter useless thread...different eras, periods...no comparison.
However, both great captains in their own right.

 

[PerfectionPersonified]

No current team can beat even this OZ team in OZ the way we have done.

SA will eat this Aussie team alive , heck NZ will kill it. Sri lanka is playing next and even with really poor side they will give this aussie team run for their money

 

[Greenstorm]

No comparison. Virat Kohli has the backing of a proper professional setup of which he himself is a product. Imran Khan on the other hand had to be fast bowler, batsman, captain, selector, scout, nutritionist...

 

[JaDed]

If he had won in SA or England this year then yes he was near.but no not for now also coz he doesn't have WC...

And as said tactical wise no one trust him yet although his field placement was good in last two tests along with his selection of players ...

 

[Muhammad10]

I was clearly referring to the ODI team, a team that beat South Africa 5-1 in South Africa.

Let's see how Pakistan performs.

But getting back to the original question, Virat >>>>>>>>>>> Imran.

It isn't even close.

Are you seriously trying to say your current ODI team is one of the GOAT cricketing sides? At the moment, no one is as dominant as England, who are also the top ranked team, in ODIs.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

SA will eat this Aussie team alive , heck NZ will kill it. Sri lanka is playing next and even with really poor side they will give this aussie team run for their money

SA and NZ are the most likely but its not a foregone conclusion. If they get these sorta wickets, you need guys who can bat long and big. Lately no one from SA has done that. QDK, Faf, Amla all out of form with only a few runs between them over the last year. Markram has potential but we don't know yet what he can do there. Philander would be completely neutralised etc. Beating Pakistan away is not an achievement that makes this NZ side great. Their batting should do well just like last time but I doubt Boult, Southee and Wagner would do anything significant on these pitches. England might be more competitive than last year and thats it.

 

[Haroon786]

If I'm correct, the only major difference between Dhoni the test captain and Kohli the test captain is this series win in Australia? So is this the difference between an average captain and a GOAT captain?

 

[Hitman]

LOL, is this a serious question?

Tests:

Imran Khan captained 48 tests, 14 wins, 8 losses, 26 draws.

Virat Kohli captained 46 tests, 26 wins, 10 losses, 10 draws.

Won a series in Australia, something Imran could never do.
Has almost twice the number of wins in the same number of tests.
Virat is so far ahead of Imran here that to question this, you have to view this from green tinted glasses and then close your eyes to all the facts and numbers.


LOI:

Imran Khan captained 139 ODIs, 75 wins, 59 losses. Winning 54% of matches.

Virat Kohli captained 57 ODIs, 42 wins, 13 losses. Winning 73% of matches.

Imran's feather in his cap was that his teams gave West Indies a good fight, Virat's teams ARE the West Indies of today.
Virat has far far far surpassed anything Imran has ever done except for a World cup win as far as ODIs are concerned.

Stats only count while bringing up how Imran averaged 19 with the ball and 50 with the ball as a captain.

 

[Itachi]

Imran was also a selector. So he had much more privileges over the system than any other captain. With that in mind, Imran actually underachieved given the talent and privileges he had. He isn't actually a standard to begin with.

 

[Bhaijaan]

No. Sorry.

Kohli is a very good leader but he is nowhere near Imran or Kapil yet.

Imran transformed a bunch of ordinary blokes into world beaters.

Kohli has merely ensured hes got the best out of a lot of these players. Thats it.

Not ruling out that he cant reach that level in future your Bhaijaan is particularly impressed with the way Kohli has revived India's bowling and created two world class young LOI spin match winners out of nothing in span of an year.

Kohli had the same tools as Dhoni had but he has definitely got better from his bowlers than Dhoni did.

Way to go.

But please dont compare him to Immy Khan yer. He is the arguably among the top 3 or 5 captains ever.

Clive Lloyd is the GOAT captain.

 

[RyanRyan10]

Statistically Virat led team is much better than Imran Khan's side

Even if we don't consider win % as here as there used to be a lot of draws in those days,the W/L ratio of this Indian side is much better than W/L ratio of Imran led Pakistan side

So if Virat isn't a better captain then this team is better side than Imran led Pakistan atleast in tests

 

[SportsWarrior]

Not to equal . But to be considered the GOAT Asian captain.

And who according to you is the GOAT Asian captain? I personally rate Virat captancy as average but he is statistically better than most a in captains , may be even all.

 

[Mr. Cricket]

No, he can't.

IK is in another league. Different level.

How and by what means can u enlighten us.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

How and by what means can u enlighten us.

Oh I can, you can bet I can. But I won't!

Enjoy your victory in Australia! Silently

 

[deep82]

I don't rate Imran khan just like I don't rate Kapil Dev. Both won World cup by fluke with mediocre team though.

Infact the captaincy debate is overrarted. A captain is as good as the team. Ponting or Llyod would not have awesome record if not for some ATG players in their team.

 

[deep82]

Imran Khan is so overrarted in this forum. Ask anyone outside PP and the truth will present itself!

 

[Mr. Cricket]

Oh I can, you can bet I can. But I won't!

Enjoy your victory in Australia! Silently

Ohh neither you can nor I can because he is not better than Kohli as a captain in Test.

 

[DRsohail]

If Indian can sustain its ranking for another 2-3 years and if Kohli can lead them to a World Cup win, he will cement his legacy as the GOAT Asian cricketer.

Both are realistic possibilities. Other than England, I don't see any team challenging India in any format for at least 3-4 years, and Kohli will remain captain till 2023-2024 at least.

This is a wonderful period for Indian fans, and they fully deserve it. What we are witnessing today is the culmination of all the hard work and long-term planning of the BCCI.

Agreed doc. Kohli will retire as the best player from .

 

[DRsohail]

Imran Khan is so overrarted in this forum. Ask anyone outside PP and the truth will present itself!

Kohli is one of the best and can retire as the best captain and player from Asia who has ever played the game but no way Imran Khan is overrated. He is rightly praised.

 

[deep82]

Kohli is one of the best and can retire as the best captain and player from Asia who has ever played the game but no way Imran Khan is overrated. He is rightly praised.

Imran Khan is no doubt a Pakistan ATG ( just like Kapil Dev) and deserves all accolades but he is neither overrated or underrated for neutral cricket fans.

 

[srh]

Imran Khan is pretty much the gold standard of leaders in the cricketing world. No words left to describe how he inspired bowlers and his team to compete hard and win tests abroad, ultimately culminating in the unforgettable 1992 WC win.

I make this Kohli comparison because in 2018, he has managed to achieve two unprecedented feats in India cricket history. While he lead with the bat to win India the first ever ODI series in SA absolutely dominating Rabada and co., In Australia he lead India to the first ever series win in nearly 70 years ! While he may not have been at his best with the bat in Australia, he still did score a chanceless 123 on a tricky wicket in Perth under pressure, which was arguably the best knock of the series despite it coming in a losing cause.

Personally, he also managed to get rid of the monkey on his back in England and dominated the run scoring charts there. His captaincy was questionable in the England series although he seems to have learnt something from his mistakes and showed better leadership in Australia.

In terms of team selection, he seems to have found great long term prospects in Mayank Agarwal, Jaspit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant. His stress on India having a competitive bowling attack is very refreshing.

The current Indian team seems to have a lot of faith in Kohli the leader, and with the bat he seems to be getting better and better. I think if he can go on and win India a WC as captain , and win a test series in SA (India's final frontier) in the next away cycle...he will be right up there with Imran as one of the greatest leaders in cricket history.

Thoughts ?

Kohli first has to become India's best captain ever surpassing Ganguly and Dhoni before he can think about surpassing Imran Khan.
Hanooz Dilli dour asat.

 

[Mirpur express]

IK the captain of all time 11.. says it all

 

[Buffet]

IK was dependent on Miandad for tactics.

Who is Miandad for Kohli?

 

[Smbhayi]

IK was dependent on Miandad for tactics.

Who is Miandad for Kohli?

Dhoni for ODI

 

[Finisher]

LOL, is this a serious question?

Tests:

Imran Khan captained 48 tests, 14 wins, 8 losses, 26 draws.

Virat Kohli captained 46 tests, 26 wins, 10 losses, 10 draws.

Won a series in Australia, something Imran could never do.
Has almost twice the number of wins in the same number of tests.
Virat is so far ahead of Imran here that to question this, you have to view this from green tinted glasses and then close your eyes to all the facts and numbers.


LOI:

Imran Khan captained 139 ODIs, 75 wins, 59 losses. Winning 54% of matches.

Virat Kohli captained 57 ODIs, 42 wins, 13 losses. Winning 73% of matches.

Imran's feather in his cap was that his teams gave West Indies a good fight, Virat's teams ARE the West Indies of today.
Virat has far far far surpassed anything Imran has ever done except for a World cup win as far as ODIs are concerned.

Their the great Windies and Australian team in one

 

[Markhor]

Imran Khan as a captain is overrated on this forum. An ATG without a doubt but his exploits as a leader has been exaggerated a tad bit perhaps due to his post cricket achievements.
Having said that, Kohli has a long way to go to match him in that department. Don't let the series win in Australia fool you. I'm still not sold out on him and imo we missed a great chance to beat South Africa in their own backyard solely because of his idiotic decisions.

England were there for the taking in the summer. Should have won 3-2 if not for botched chases and lack of ruthlessness against the tail at Edgbaston and Southampton.

 

[Pete Rose]

he will have more opportunity to do that simply because India will play more games away against tougher teams (AUS, SA, ENG and maybe NZ) than the other teams

 

[Pete Rose]

Imran Khan is no doubt a Pakistan ATG ( just like Kapil Dev) and deserves all accolades but he is neither overrated or underrated for neutral cricket fans.

There’s no such thing as a neutral cricket fan. Narratives change over time and are not driven by facts.

 

[big_gamer007]

No. Sorry.

Kohli is a very good leader but he is nowhere near Imran or Kapil yet.

Imran transformed a bunch of ordinary blokes into world beaters.

Kohli has merely ensured hes got the best out of a lot of these players. Thats it.

Not ruling out that he cant reach that level in future your Bhaijaan is particularly impressed with the way Kohli has revived India's bowling and created two world class young LOI spin match winners out of nothing in span of an year.

Kohli had the same tools as Dhoni had but he has definitely got better from his bowlers than Dhoni did.

Way to go.

But please dont compare him to Immy Khan yer. He is the arguably among the top 3 or 5 captains ever.

Clive Lloyd is the GOAT captain.

Saeed Anwar, Saleem Malik, Wasim Akram, waqar Younis, inzimam up haq, mushtaq ahmed are ordinary?
Kohli has ordinary players like Pujara, Rahane, Ishantz Shani etc who he had turned into world beaters..

Imran had legends who he made good use of and once Imran retired who couldn't fulfil their true potential.

Imran is a great leader however he always had the most talented team at his disposal albeit youngsters.

 

[Muhammad10]

Imran Khan is no doubt a Pakistan ATG ( just like Kapil Dev) and deserves all accolades but he is neither overrated or underrated for neutral cricket fans.

Agreed. Neutrals such as [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION], [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] and [MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION] rate him as one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of cricket, and you're right, it's certainly beneficial to get confirmation of Imran's status as one of the greats of the game from unbiased, neutral cricket fans, who will neither over-rate or under-rate him or Kapil, Botham, Hadlee, et al.

 

[JaDed]

England were there for the taking in the summer. Should have won 3-2 if not for botched chases and lack of ruthlessness against the tail at Edgbaston and Southampton.

Yes but Saffer series was more imp coz we haven't won and we were so close!

 

[AuxiliA]

To judge Captaincy minus the statistics, is highly subjective. Everyone has their own favourites and opinions.

Kohli in just 4 years has amassed 26 wins, among those 11 are in away tests. The record is 53 and 23 respectively. Asian records are 27 and 11.

I will be more than happy if he becomes the greatest 'statistical' captain ever and wins tough tours. Don't care about how he will be rated subjectively.

 

[Buffet]

To judge Captaincy minus the statistics, is highly subjective. Everyone has their own favourites and opinions.

Kohli in just 4 years has amassed 26 wins, among those 11 are in away tests. The record is 53 and 23 respectively. Asian records are 27 and 11.

I will be more than happy if he becomes the greatest 'statistical' captain ever and wins tough tours. Don't care about how he will be rated subjectively.

Bold part is the final result. He could lack in many things, but I feel him backing pacers unconditionally has paid dividend. Not many posters have pointed out, but Bumrah was not seen as test bowler, but Kohli played him in the test match and he helped to make history in Aus.

This Indian team is not really filled with gun players. No one expected Indian pacers to bowl as they have done in the last 12 months.

 

[srh]

For me the best Indian captain ever will always be Ganguly. He change the mindset of Indian players and make them start believing in themselves. All other future captains are piggybacking on Ganguly's work. He is like Caesar of Planet of the Apes.

 

[AuxiliA]

Bold part is the final result. He could lack in many things, but I feel him backing pacers unconditionally has paid dividend. Not many posters have pointed out, but Bumrah was not seen as test bowler, but Kohli played him in the test match and he helped to make history in Aus.

This Indian team is not really filled with gun players. No one expected Indian pacers to bowl as they have done in the last 12 months.

Yeah, I don't think that he is a great captain yet. But he is given a lot less credit than he actually deserves, even by his own team's fans.

 

[AlizeeFan]

Dunno how you would quantify that. Test wins? Ponting had plenty but I didn’t think he was a good leader tactically. I don’t think Kohli is much tactically either but like Ponting he inspires his men by getting lots of runs.

Imran didn’t win many tests but there were a lot of draws in those days, because batters knew how to bat all day and save matches instead of blast quick fifties. He won in India with a massive personal input, then in England having led the attack. He was tactically pretty good and able to keep his guys calm under pressure. He was also good a5 identifying players with the right attitude.

That's just a lie.

Reason was because what used to be 5 day then is 3 day game now.

Reduce test cricket to 3 days and most of matches will end in draw.

 

[SportsWarrior]

I personally don't rate Virat as a captain much. But i was just reminded n another forum that we were ranked 7th when Virat took over captaincy.. So it is a very good turn around from Virat and Indian team

https://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/india-slip-to-seventh-in-test-rankings/article6777879.ece

1. South Africa (124 rating points)
2. Australia (118)
3. England (104)
4. Pakistan (103)
5. New Zealand (99)
6. Sri Lanka (96)
7. India (95) --> further dropped to 93 in April
8. West Indies (76)

 

[urnotserious]

Yes, because stats are a wonderful way to compare captains from completely different teams and eras.

I wasn't even talking about Kohli vs Imran. India are not nearly as dominant as they should be to be the 'WI of today'.

This Indian team has not won in South Africa, England or New Zealand.

Clive Lloyd's West Indies never won a series in New Zealand either despite playing against them a couple of times. Do you still consider them a great team? They also lost to India in India. Still a great team? If so, why them and not India?

Your memory isn't serving you well here.

 

[PakLFC]

Of course he can. Many Pak fans can't see beyond IK. Kohli has the personality and batting class to overtake IK but he will first have to captain the side to a WC victory. One can also argue that IK's Pak side never won a series in Australia.

 

[KingKhanWC]

This is a joke of a thread. So many on PP these days about India and Kohli as they are the second coming.

India beat the weakest Australian team of all time. Understand this and you will think twice about creating such threads.

Imran could bowl, bat, captain, select, scout, improve, inspire, be an example. Tactically he was fine too, otherwise he wouldn't have promoted himself up the order in the final in 1992 and knew when to bring back Wasim to win the match.

Kohli is a very good batsmen but an average captain. He's not even in the top 3 of Indian captains let alone to be compared to the one of the top 3 all time great captains.

 

[Abdul]

LOL, is this a serious question?

Tests:

Imran Khan captained 48 tests, 14 wins, 8 losses, 26 draws.

Virat Kohli captained 46 tests, 26 wins, 10 losses, 10 draws.

Won a series in Australia, something Imran could never do.
Has almost twice the number of wins in the same number of tests.
Virat is so far ahead of Imran here that to question this, you have to view this from green tinted glasses and then close your eyes to all the facts and numbers.


LOI:

Imran Khan captained 139 ODIs, 75 wins, 59 losses. Winning 54% of matches.

Virat Kohli captained 57 ODIs, 42 wins, 13 losses. Winning 73% of matches.

Imran's feather in his cap was that his teams gave West Indies a good fight, Virat's teams ARE the West Indies of today.
Virat has far far far surpassed anything Imran has ever done except for a World cup win as far as ODIs are concerned.

Fully agreed.

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Clive Lloyd's West Indies never won a series in New Zealand either despite playing against them a couple of times. Do you still consider them a great team? They also lost to India in India. Still a great team? If so, why them and not India?

Your memory isn't serving you well here.

A couple of times? They played one series of 3 matches. Lost one and drew the other two. Compare this with India who lost 4-1 in England and 2-1 in South Africa.

West Indies used to dominate series. Kohli's team didn't even dominate the recent series in Australia.

 

[Sachin136]

A couple of times? They played one series of 3 matches. Lost one and drew the other two. Compare this with India who lost 4-1 in England and 2-1 in South Africa.

West Indies used to dominate series. Kohli's team didn't even dominate the recent series in Australia.

Australia could've been asked to follow on twice, and the series would've been 3-1 if not for rain. How did India not dominate?

 

[urnotserious]

A couple of times? They played one series of 3 matches. Lost one and drew the other two. Compare this with India who lost 4-1 in England and 2-1 in South Africa.

West Indies used to dominate series. Kohli's team didn't even dominate the recent series in Australia.

Dominate? Did they? Is that why they have 26 draws and 36 wins whereas Kohli has 26 wins and 10 draws?

I dont think the word dominate means what you think it means. LOL.