India spinner Karn Sharma recalled his Test debut for India in 2014, explaining how Virat Kohli’s bold approach was a shot in the arm.

Virat Kohli stepped down as India’s captain in January of 2022 but not before he became the country’s most successful Test skipper. With 40 victories as captain from 68 Tests, Kohli has a win percentage of 58.82, with one of the reasons behind his instrumental success being his bold approach. Not only did he make fitness a priority with the introduction of the Yo-Yo test, under him, India made it a habit to win Test matches abroad and pick 20 wickets in an inning. It all began in December of 2014, when Kohli was slotted in as India’s Test captain after MS Dhoni was ruled out due to a thumb injury in the series opener of the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Virat Kohli, the Test captain, was a pioneer for Indian cricket(Getty)

India spinner Karn Sharma, who made his Test debut in that game at Adelaide, recalled how Kohli broke barriers in his first Test as captain. Leading from the front with twin centuries in the game, Kohli’s message was clear: No more draws, even if it meant risking a defeat. Set a target of 363 runs to get on the final day, Kohli, soon to take over as India’s full-time Test captain, opted for a much bolder approach, and decided India will chase these runs down.

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“Making my Test debut against Australia in Australia will always remains special. Very few people get that type of start. The dressing room atmosphere was quite good. Ravi Shastri, the coach, was there. We were chasing over 300 runs in that match and Virat said ‘no draw. We are going to chase it down. That injected a lot of positivity among players in the dressing room,” Sharma told Manjot Kalra on the latter’s YouTube channel.

“It was a different approach. Different captain has a different approach, But ever since he said we are chasing over 300 in the fourth innings of a Test – which was very tough in Australian conditions – it sends a wonderful indication to the players in dressing room, that your captain has different plans.”

‘Virat Kohli never showed he was out of form’

A few months prior to the Australia tour, Sharma had made his India debut in the ODI series against England, which succeeded the 5-Test series. England had beaten India 3-1, with Kohli enduring his most infamous slump in form, scoring 134 runs in 10 innings. Playing his first Test series in England, Kohli was dealt a brutal reality check.

As the ODIs began, Kohli started to find some form, managing a fifty, though it lacked his typical free-flowing self. Interestingly, Sharma noted that off the field, Kohli never appeared too weighed down – a surprising observation, especially considering that Virat himself had admitted to the struggle.

“He didn’t get runs but to be honest, it never looked as if he was out of form. He always gave that impression that everything is fine. Through his preparations, fitness, mental approach, Kohli never appeared too bothered or was fretting over the fact that he had a bad Test series,” Sharma, who represented India in all three formats, added.