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David Gower, former England captain and a renowned commentator, has picked Virat Kohli as the captain of his start-studded Test XI, consisting of only active players.
Other than Kohli, Gower also picked New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, England trio – Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Jos Buttler – and former Australian skipper Steve Smith.
Among bowlers, Gower went ahead with Ravichandran Ashwin, Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins.
“Ben Stokes and Virat Kohli will be the instant picks for him and there are no two ways about it. If a current day spinner is to be chosen it would be between Ravichandran Ashwin or Nathan Lyon,” Gower said on the SportsTiger’s show ‘Off-the-Field’.
‘Virat is an extraordinary individual contributing to the team’
Gower lauded Kohli for his extraordinary leadership skills, and said the latter’s passion and drive to succeed remains unmatched in the cricketing world.
“If I have to pick a captain for the team it will surely be Virat Kohli, what I like about Virat apart from his talent is his passion and absolute drive. Cricket is still a game where you can be a brilliant individual within the team but too much of individuality can also be harmful but Virat is an extraordinary individual contributing to the team,” added the 63-years-old.
Statistically, with 33 wins and 12 defeats in 55 matches so far, Kohli is the most successful Indian captain in the longest format of the game. Under his astute leadership, India registered their first-ever Test series victory on Australian soil in 2018.
The Delhi-born had earlier made a frank admission that Test cricket is indeed the best form of the game. Gower feels that Kohli’s inclination towards Test cricket is an excellent advertisement for the game.
“Virat Kohli as the leading player of the world calling test cricket as the toughest and most important form is great PR for the format,” Gower concluded.
