Under Virat Kohli's tenure as captain, India achieved immense success in all the three formats. Yet there remained criticism. Lack of ICC trophies during his tenure left many veteran cricketers and experts questioning the Indian side. Kohli later admitted that while he never judged himself from that point of view but no ICC title wins led to many considering him as a "failed captain". Reacting to the remark, former England cricketer Monty Panesar took a brutal dig at Kohli.
One of the biggest highlight of Kohli's captaincy period was his record in Tests - 40 wins in 68 matches - which comfortably places him among the legends in the format and best ever in Indian cricket history. The tally also includes a historic 2018/19 series win in Australia, reaching the No.1 ranking in Test cricket, and remaining unbeaten at home. In white-ball cricket, India won 65 out of 95 ODIs and 30 out of 50 T20Is under Kohli which includes historic away success in Australia and South Africa. Yet none of those tallies included an ICC trophy win.
Speaking on RCB podcast, Kohli admitted that the change in team culture was the highlight of his tenure.
“Look you play to win tournaments, and a lot was made of it (India not winning ICC tournaments) to be honest,” Kohli said. “ We reached the finals of 2017 Champions Trophy, we reached the semis of the World Cup and finals of the Test Championship, and I was considered as a failed captain. I never judged myself from that point of view.
{{/usCountry}}“Look you play to win tournaments, and a lot was made of it (India not winning ICC tournaments) to be honest,” Kohli said. “ We reached the finals of 2017 Champions Trophy, we reached the semis of the World Cup and finals of the Test Championship, and I was considered as a failed captain. I never judged myself from that point of view.
{{/usCountry}}“What we ended up achieving as a team and the cultural change, for me that’s always going to be a matter of pride because tournaments happen for a certain period of time but a culture happens over a long period of time, and for that you need consistency, for that you need more character than just winning a tournament.”
In reaction to Kohli's remark, Panesar took to Twitter to write, "Unfortunately, that’s the pressure of being captain of India. No one remembers second or third place teams. We always remember winners of ICC tournaments."
Under Kohli's captaincy, India reached the final twice - 2017 ICC Champions Trophy and 2021 ICC World Test Championship - losing to Pakistan and New Zealand respectively. India also reached the semis of the 2019 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, losing to the Black Caps and suffered a forgettable group-stage exit in the 2021 Men's T20 World Cup.