Australia’s limited-overs format skipper Aaron Finch has heaped praises on the astute leadership of Indian captain Virat Kohli.
Finch has led the Australian side during a tumultuous period in their cricket history, in the absence of their former leadership group, Steve Smith and David Warner, who were serving their ban period.
The Victorian captained the Aussie side to victory in the 2019 ODI series, becoming the first side to beat India in India, since 2015.
However, Finch reckons that every player goes through a lean patch with the bat and the same goes for Kohli, who hasn’t registered a three-figure score since November 2019.
The last time the ton-machine scored a hundred was against Bangladesh in the Pink Test at Eden Gardens at Kolkata. Subsequently, Kohli underwent a lean patch during the ties against Australia and New Zealand.
“Every player, regardless of who it is, has a bad series. But very very rarely do you see Kohli, (Steve) Smith, even going back (Ricky) Ponting, Sachin (Tendulkar), these guys they don’t have two bad series in a row,” Finch said on Sony Ten Pit Stop show.
Also, Finch pointed out that featuring in the Indian XI and captaining the side is a different ball-game altogether.
“The pressure of playing for India is one but also leading India is another and the way he (Kohli) has done it, so consistently for a long time. Taking over from MS Dhoni, the leadership, that is huge. The expectations were high, and he kept delivering, and I think that that is the most impressive thing,” he added.
Further, the 33-year-old mentioned about Kohli’s incredible consistency in all three formats, in the last decade.
“What has been so impressive for so long is just his consistency across three formats. To be the best player of all-time in ODI cricket is one thing but then to also be in Test cricket and T20 cricket as a rounded player that is remarkable,” Finch concluded.
