As captain, Virat Kohli never seemed to shrink, rather, he seemed to grow with it. His ability to lead a team never seemed to be a hindrance, no matter how good or bad the times were. Although his jet-black beard was neatly trimmed, some silvery flecks appeared. Yet captaincy, if his on-field passion were a reflection of his words in press conferences, was a comfortable place for him to dwell.

His instinct for captaincy was predestined the moment he broke into first-class cricket, which he was able to prove to doubters, even if he didn’t win an ICC trophy, which arguably led to Rohit Sharma replacing him as the white ball captain.
Kohli’s age and age group must be taken into account. While he remains in excellent physical condition, he is entering the last phase of his career and starts to notice the effects of workload management. “This was the time to manage my workload,” he says. In announcing his decision to part ways with the T20 captaincy, there has been a lot of pressure over the last six to seven years,” stated Kohli.

As a batsman, Kohli is more valuable in Indian cricket today than ever before. Many of his trusted colleagues are plateauing, and the middle class is no longer as stable as it once was. His career hinges on cracking those condition-defying centuries in Tests, shepherding the odd-defying chases in ODIs, and being the ruthless operator of T20 matches.

Kohli is destined to become a world-class batsman. It is about reaching the peaks that are waiting to be reached; it is about breaking records that are waiting to be broken. Watching Kohli as a captain was enjoyable, but watching Kohli as a batsman was even better.