'He's a true ambassador of the game' - Brad Hogg lauds Virat Kohli's contributions as latter steps down from Test captaincy

Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg has lauded Virat Kohli’s captaincy contributions after he stepped down as Team India’s Test skipper on Saturday i.e. exactly a day after the team’s Test series loss to South Africa.

With this, Kohli relinquished captaincy from all forms of the game and would now continue to play as a batter. Meanwhile, Hogg has also said that whoever succeeds the batting megastar in the longest format has got ‘big shoes to fill’.

He is going to be missed as India captain: Brad Hogg

“He’s a true ambassador of the game, and for me he is going to be missed as India captain moving forward. Well done Virat Kohli, you’ve taken Indian cricket to new heights. The next captain, well, he’s got a lot to live up to. He’s got big shoes to fill,” said Brad Hogg while interacting on his official YouTube channel.

“He’s going to be sorely missed. But one thing I love is when he took over that captaincy, he had one thing on his mind and that was to take Indian cricket to new heights, and he did. He did it with discipline, passion, setting standards both physically and performance-wise, and the way they conducted themselves both on and off the field, and he also put the team first. He put Indian cricket first above his own performances,” the two-time World Cup winner added.

Virat Kohli’s wait for a 71st international century prolongs as he failed to convert his half-century into a three-figure score yet again during the first ODI against South Africa at Boland Park in Paarl on Wednesday. He scored 51 off 63 deliveries before being dismissed by Tabraiz Shamsi.

Earlier, centuries from skipper Temba Bavuma (110) and Rassie van der Dussen (129*) helped the Proteas post a challenging total of 296/4 from their 50 overs after electing to bat first. The duo was involved in a 204-run stand for the fourth wicket after the hosts had lost three wickets for 68 in the 18th over. South Africa won the game by 31 runs as the middle order of India collapsed yet again.