Kohli isn't building anything.. the core of this side is Dhoni's side. Kohli will likely end up like Ponting, in that they had good sides (India are strong in Asia) who they managed and led well. But will behind the likes of Fleming (had it all, was called the best captain he has played against by Warne), McCullum and Clarke who were excellent tacticians and able to read games exceptionally well.
Ponting and Kohli would have struggled to lead the sides both Fleming, Clarke and McCullum had.
[MENTION=132954]Aman[/MENTION], You couldn't be further from the truth. The personnel might not be entirely new, but the mentality of the team is completely different from the team that Dhoni led.
Even for personnel, Rahul, Nair and Jayant are additions. Saha's replacement is due soon, and that too would be under Kohli.
Even for the existing personnel, Kohli seems to have given a new sense of belonging to all of these players.
- Ashwin - Wouldn't make it Dhoni's XI abroad. Is now the vice captain and is becoming a world class all rounder.
- Shami and Yadav - They seem to be getting better with every series. In fact, despite playing second fiddle to our spinners, all our pace bowlers seem to have been suddenly given a new lease of life. The true test will come when they play abroad. But they have still out bowled opposition pacers in each series we have played since SL last year.
- Jadeja too seems to be giving more thought to his batting
- Kohli himself seems to have found another gear
Additionally, Kohli is not just building a core XI, but also bench strength. The whole team does have a bit more energy that what they had under Dhoni. Even when they won under Dhoni, they didnt seem to have the same belief.
Kohli is not tactical genius and he is also a bit more defensive than I'd like. But those are areas for him to improve.
The best part about Kohli's captaincy for me though - the vigour with which they celebrated test series victory. Never was the same under Dhoni post 2011 when we lost the old skool cricketers.
Dhoni was not all bad. He is still a tactical genius in ODIs. And he did well to handle the resources he had at hand and lead us to no.1. But he didnt have the same passion for test cricket. Kohli is changing that.
