Virat Kohli is not just a name in Indian sports, but a global star. All over the world, where cricket lovers are, his name comes to the top of the list as many do see Virat as the best batsman of his era and one of the top five of all-time. Virat Kohli’s Captaincy Record has some good and bad turns.
In 2023, at the Cricket World Cup, he broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most centuries in ODIs. This alone shows the impact and creative impact of Virat, who is too consistent. And Virat is not just a good player, but a hungry leader too. This is why when he became captain of India, there were high expectations. Some of them he did hit well and others he did not able to.
This is why, Virat Kohli as a captain is always talk of the town. In fact, he has expressed the feelings that under Virat the team was not doing that bad. In fact, his win percentage is an all-time high. And this, in a way, does not seem a bad stat to have.
Virat Kohli Captaincy Record: Early Days
When Kohli became a super crucial player for then-captain MS Dhoni, somewhere around 2008, it was like if anybody could lead India like MSD for so long would be Virat. After Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni was the only captain to make India win the ODI World Cup (2011). And then he did add the 2007 T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy 2013 title.
In terms of winning percentage, Kohli stands out not just in India but all over the world.
He did get his major break at the 2014-15 Australia Test series of India. MS Dhoni announced the retirement from Test format and Kohli became the captain. In fact, in the Test, he started to do better than Dhoni as Kohli went all guns. And it is was to win or lose the game rather than going for a draw.
Overall, from 2013 to 2022, he managed India as a captain in 213 matches, winning 135, losing 60, 3 ties and 19 draws. His winning percentage was 63.38.
Kohli Captaincy Record: Biggest Change
Virat Kohli as a leader did understand that working on fitness can set great performances for India overall. Hence, he came with the Yo-Yo Test. This means every player has to prove their fitness to get selected. So skills only would not pay the bills as this Test is needed to get into the team.
This did cause controversies. But at the same time, even seniors started to act in a better manner. As a result, the players did start to match the players of New Zealand and others. This is where India did save a lot of runs and as a result, they saved more runs in fielding than any other Indian captain saw before him.
Virat Kohli Captaincy Record: In the ODI
Kohli did manage as a captain of India post MS Dhoni lost the 2017 Champions Trophy final to Pakistan. And he did lead India at the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. India lost the semi-finals to New Zealand and missed a golden chance to win the World Cup.
He did manage India in 95 games, out of which Kohli won 65 games and 27 losses. This made the win percentage of 68.42. His biggest drawback came because MS Dhoni did not give a team where a player at the number 4 position could anchor the innings. And this became one of the key reasons for not being too good.
But as a batsman, Kohli did stand out with 5549 runs, making a great average of 72.65. And he did contribute with 21 centuries. This shows in most of the games his impact was well alive. However, not winning any silverware at the ICC level made him lose his captaincy and then he did not lead India in the next ODI World Cup in 2023.
Overall, the team did win matches but not the overall ICC Cups in the 50-over format.
| ODI | 95 |
| Won At Home | 24 |
| Won at Neutral Venues | 12 |
| Won away from home | 29 |
| Lost | 27 |
| Win Percentage | 68.42 |
Kohli Captaincy Record: T20I
Kohli’s Captaincy Record in T20I did not see his side win the T20I World Cup in 2020. But he did make India win the T20 series away from home in South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia. And this record is something that any Indian captain does not have. But in the 2020 World Cup, India did not perform well as a result he did not lose his captaincy to Rohit Sharma in this format as he did win great with Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. Meanwhile, Virat did not win any IPL title as a captain or otherwise for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He did not score big 1570 runs in 30 games with a strike rate of 64.58%.
| T20I | 50 |
| Won At Home | 13 |
| Won at Neutral Venues | 3 |
| Won away from home | 14 |
| Lost | 16 |
| NR | 3 |
| Win Percentage | 64.58 |
Virat Captaincy in Test Cricket
Nobody can say that Virat did not make a mega impact in Test cricket as a captain. Under his leadership, India did well away from home and as they always went to win the series and not have many draws. In the Test, Kohli was captain for India in 68 games, winning 39, and losing 16 and drawing 11 games. His win percentage was 58.82. And it is very good in Test cricket.
In these 30 matches, Kohli scored 5703 runs, scoring 20 centuries and seven double hundreds. It was 11 January 2022 when he did play the last game as a captain, losing the series away from home to South Africa. As a captain, he did score a lot of runs and won games for India. And unlike ODIs and T20Is, this worked in a massive manner for the person.
| Test | 68 |
| Win At Home | 24 |
| Win Away From Home | 15 |
| Losing Games | 16 |
| Win percentage | 58.82 |
Overall Captaincy Take
When Anil Kumble was working well as the head coach of India, bringing Ravi Shastri in was a decision that most of the fans of pundits did not like. And this was one of the main reasons behind losing the impact.
Plus Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni did win a lot of IPL titles for their sides. But Kolhi did not do the same. Over the years, he did not make RCB a stable side in the IPL. This was the core reason that Rohit seemed a better captain for India. Hence, he lost the captaincy early in Test cricket even when he did well in that format.
In terms of fitness, Virat’s time would be seen as a golden period. But winning ICC titles matters the most when one is lending India now.
Kohli Captaincy Vs Rohit & MS Dhoni
Kohli’s win percentage might be better than Dhoni and Rohit’s. But he did not win the ICC title for India while these two have done. Dhoni won the 2007 T20 WC, 2011 CWC and 2013 Champions Trophy. On the other hand, Rohit led India to win the T20I World Cup in 2024.
So, this alone will make them better leaders. Doing well in Tests matters a lot, but not at the level of being World Champions.
Also read about: India National Cricket Team vs South Africa National Cricket Team Timeline and Stats
