Michael Hussey compares Virat Kohli's leadership with that of Ricky Ponting

Virat Kohli has had a dream run in his captaincy career so far. He is yet to loose a Test series, since being appointed as the full-time captain. In the 28 Tests, he has already led the team with a lot of composure and passion.

The iconic batsman’s aggressive leadership skills have invited comparisons with former legendary Australian captain Ricky Ponting. Former Australian batsman Michael Hussey was quite impressed with the Indian skipper’s leadership skills and the high standards of training.

Virat Kohli was appointed the full-time Test captain for the first time against Sri Lanka in 2015 Test series. He led the team to an incredible victory by defeating the hosts 2-1, which was their first Test series win in Sri Lanka after 22 years.

Since then the right-hander has not looked behind and has been registering Test series wins after wins. Recently, after defeating Sri Lanka in the 2nd Test at Colombo, the Indian team registered its 8th consecutive Test series victory under Virat’s captaincy.

Kohli is doing a great job

After the winning run in the longer format, Virat was appointed the full-time captain of the Men in Blue for the ODIs and T20s as well, replacing one of the most successful captains in the history of international cricket- MS Dhoni. His dream run continued in the shorter format also, as he registered series wins against England and West Indies.

Under Kohli’s guidance, the Indian team qualified for the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy in England and Wales. Former left- hand batsman Michael Hussey felt that the skipper is doing a commendable job and also compared him to former Aussie captain Ricky Ponting.

“I have always enjoyed Kohli’s captaincy. He is doing a great job. He has got this great will to win. I can see parallels of Ricky Ponting in Kohli’s leadership. Since Ponting was always hungry for success, he would keep pushing his team. He set very high standards in training and was very competitive,” Hussey said, as quoted by Times of India.

“MS Dhoni was a wonderful captain and it was always going to be a challenge for Virat to fill Dhoni’s big shoes. But the good thing about Virat is he didn’t want to follow Dhoni’s methods. He has been his own man and led the side in his own way. He has been true to his own personality,” he added.

Important to have a good team

The Australian cricketer stated that it is important to perform as a team for success in all formats of the game. He acknowledged that Virat is blessed to have a bunch of well-settled boys in the Indian team now, after the retirement of many of the legendary Indian cricketers.

“I believe that a captain is as good as his team. And Virat has got some excellent players in his side. India have been through the period of transition where the legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman retired and the younger lot came in. But now, the team is a settled unit and is hungry for success. These are exciting times for Indian cricket. Obviously, there will be challenges along the way and not only the captain but the players will also be tested,” Hussey added.