Virat Kohli, one of the all-time legends of Indian cricket, announced on 15th January 2022 that he would be resigning from Test cricket captaincy. The announcement came just after India lost the Test series against South Africa. This was kind of a shocker as it was not expected. Virat relinquished the T20 captaincy after the T20 World cup 2021 and later he was removed from the ODI captaincy in December 2021. Kohli was supposed to continue as the Test captain but his decision to leave the Test captaincy was a bolt from the blue. Let us now focus on the achievements of Virat Kohli as the Test Captain of India.
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 15, 2022
Virat played 68 matches as the Test captain and won 40 matches. That’s an awesome record with a win/loss ratio of 2.35. He is the most successful Test captain of India according to these statistics. He also holds the record of the most number of overseas wins- 16 out of 36 matches among all the previous Indian captains.
After taking the captaincy from MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli took team India from number 7 in the world to number 1 in the ICC Test rankings. Kohli pushed the importance of fitness within the team and therefore the Indian team is one of the fittest units across all the Test playing nations.
Kohli’s 7 double hundreds as a Test captain is the most among any captains. Under his leadership, India won the 2018-19 Test series against Australia in Australia. That is a huge achievement as no other previous Asian captains were able to achieve this feat.
Virat Kohli could not score a Test century since 2019 and I hope with the extra responsibility of not leading the team, he would find his batting form back and we would be able to witness the run machine Kohli again!
Now that we mentioned some of the achievements of Virat Kohli as the Test skipper, let us learn some of the leadership lessons that we can take away from him.
1. Leading from the front
Virat Kohli led from the front always. His batting records during his tenure as the captain were mindblowing. Except for the last couple of years, he dominated with his batting. He has the highest batting average of 54.8 among all the other captains. When a skipper of any team does well, it motivates the other players to perform better as well. That how one should lead from the front.
If you are a leader in your role, your job would be to lead from the front. You can achieve that by performing to the best of your abilities. You will earn the respect from your team members and people would take you seriously.
2. Never shied away from challenges
There were many instances when Virat Kohli was the sole run getter in the team. In the recently concluded Test series against South Africa, Virat Kohli played a patient innings of 79 runs from 201 balls. That was a gem of an innings considering the tough conditions at South Africa. No other players in the team could manage even a half century.
Similarly, in the corporate world, when a difficult situation appears, the leader should be in a position to face the challenges instead of avoiding those. Remember that the team members will always look forward to a leader in time of crisis.
3. Mental toughness
Virat Kohli has a mind like rock. He is mentally tough and that’s why he is able to lead India for about 7 years. When India wins, he gets the credit but toughness comes into limelight when India loses a match or series. There were a lot of questions asked by the media and the public when India could not win the 2021 WTC finals, but as a leader, Virat Kohli believed in his abilities and continued to lead the team amidst adverse circumstances.
In the corporate sector as well, things will always not flow smoothly. However, a leader needs to back his team and believe in the team’s ability in terms of crisis. A leader who can remain mentally tough in adverse circumstances, will ultimately come out as the winner.
4. Self Discipline
Virat Kohli, in one of his interviews mentioned that his lack of performance in the 2012 IPL completely changed his game afterwards. He figured out what he was lacking. His eating habits and fitness were not up to the mark. He asked himself how could he continue to be an International cricketer if he could not take care of himself. This feeling changed his entire life. He changed his diet, started hitting the gym 2 hours a day. He avoided all kinds of junk and the results of his discipline and hard work got reflected in his performance on the field.
This is where discipline can lead you to. The initial phase is tough when you are starting a new habit but once you follow consistently, that will become a part of your habit and then you would find it hard not to follow that. In the corporate world, discipline is about starting a meeting on time, getting a prompt response always to any questions being asked etc. Disciplined leaders are not only successful at their professional career but also in their personal lives.
5. Never give up attitude
There are many instances where Virat Kohli took India home amidst difficult circumstances. He never gives up even when the situation is not conducive. He will try to hang on to the last minute to win the match for the country. Kohli’s breathtaking 82* of 51 balls in WT20 2016 was one of those instances where he took India home amidst extraordinarily difficult circumstances. That performance helped India to reach the semifinals of the 2016 World Cup. Do check out the highlights below.
In the corporate sector, there will be circumstances when in spite of giving your best, results may not come. However, as a leader you should not give up. Believe in your abilities. Encourage the team to not give up when the situation is tough. Even if you fail, you would learn something and would be able to bounce back in your next assignment. A leader is called a great leader when he or she can bring the best result amidst difficult situations.
Conclusion
These are just few lessons which I mentioned here. There are a lot more to learn from Virat Kohli. I would love to know from you about the key takeaways you were able to take from Virat Kohli’s life.
You may also like the following articles:
1. Top 7 leadership lessons from Sourav Ganguly
2. Top 5 leadership lessons from Rahul Dravid
3. Top 5 Corporate Lessons from MS Dhoni
