As India won a landmark Test series in Australia in January 2019, Virat Kohli was immediately hailed as the finest Indian Test captain by many. Why not? records speak for themselves. A win percentage above 60 is almost unimaginable for an Indian captain, given the fact that MS Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly had win percentages in the 40s and the rest are far behind.
A series of dominating performances in home conditions had catapulted Kohli to the elite list of international captains and the tour of West Indies in 2019 paved the way for him becoming the most successful Indian captain in terms of Test wins. This number though was highly lopsided, but Kohli deserved credit for creating a team that was fighting for glory away from home.
India's chequered history in Test cricket away from the sub-continent has haunted them forever and that is the reason why a maiden series win on Australian soil was being viewed as a resounding success. But the loss to New Zealand in the first Test at Wellington has brought the spotlight firmly back on India's Test record in the SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries.
West Indies were a competitive team in home conditions till the 90s but their rapid decline since the turn of the century means looking at India's record in the Windies over the past two decades becomes pointless. Hence, if we compare the record of four among the five full-time Test captains of India in the past two decades, Kohli's numbers look a bit worrisome.
Kohli has now captained India in 15 matches in the SENA countries and, with 4 victories, his win percentage of 26.67 is second only to that of Rahul Dravid's. It needs to be noted that Dravid captained India in only 6 matches in these countries and won 2 of those.
Kohli's loss percentage of 60 is the real worrying factor as he has lost 9 matches out of the 15 and is only marginally better off than MS Dhoni, who had lost 14 out of the 23 matches he had captained.
Indian cricket today, in terms of talent pool, is in the pink of its health. A robust administrative structure has assured a great pipeline and the riches of the board have led to some of the best infrastructure in the world. This is India's opportunity to dominate world cricket, improve its records and get counted among the best in the world for posterity.
Australia has done that under Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting. West Indies were irresistible under Clive Lloyd , the South Africans had their share of success under Hansie Cronje and Graeme Smith while Sri Lanka joined the elites under Ranatunga. Kohli's can be the legacy when India, unquestionably became the world's best across formats. But for that to happen, this grim looking Test record in the SENA countries need to change. And a beginning can be made at Christchurch.
