Simon Taufel reveals Virat Kohli's important quality that makes him a good leader

Since breaking into the national side, Virat Kohli has evolved into a modern-day great by delivering consistently on the field. The 31-year-old is undeniably one of the greats to have braced the sport and he is currently standing head and shoulders above his compatriots.

After breaking into the Indian squad as an impulsive youngster, Kohli notched up his batting as well as fitness level to pave his way into world-class batsmen. Combining exemplary batting technique with an aggressive attitude, Kohli has etched many records to his name. In the process, he also has scripted many achievements while leading the Indian side.

The world is in awe of Kohli and so is former Australian cricket umpire Simon Taufel. Taufel, who won five consecutive ICC Umpire of the Year awards between 2004 and 2008, heaped praise on Kohli and rated him as one of his favourite skippers.

Considering his vast umpiring experience, Taufel was asked to pick his favourite captains of the sport. He chose George Bailey, Mark Taylor and Mahela Jayawardene, finishing up with Kohli in his favourite skippers’ list. Taufel highlighted Kohli’s impressive growth and the humility which he has acquired after donning the skipper’s hat.

Virat is really starting to show some humility: Simon Taufel

“It’s very important from a leader’s perspective to not only be the best they can be but to lead by example. It’s fair to say that the India team you’re seeing now is the fittest and most agile team in many years. That’s because Virat leads by example in that area and he doesn’t ask people to do things that he wouldn’t do himself. I think that’s a very important quality as a leader,” said Taufel in a chat with Inswinging Yorker.

“The other thing is his humility. Virat is really starting to mature as a leader and he’s really starting to show some humility. I was at the ‘Pink-ball’ Test match at Kolkata in November last year and at the end of the game when he was given the trophy, you would expect him to stand in the middle with the silverware.

However, on this occasion, he chose not to. He instead gave the trophy to a player who wasn’t a part of the squad in that match. Virat went on to stand on the side with the team’s support staff. It wasn’t about Virat Kolhi, it was about the team. It’s a very important quality as a leader. A leader is only as successful as his followers allow him to be. Mental preparation is so big but good leaders tend to think about the game and they like to be in front of the game,” Taufel further said.

Here’s the video: