'Kohli Could Have Continued As Captain'

'It is humanly impossible to sustain at the level at which he was playing between 2014 and 2019.'
'The dip had to come.'

Former batting coach Sanjay Bangar believes Virat Kohli could have extended his tenure as Test captain.

Kohli stepped down from the role in January 2022, following a series loss to South Africa. During his seven-year captaincy, Kohli led India to new heights, including their first-ever Test series win in Australia.

Bangar, who closely observed Kohli's performance, acknowledged the toll that captaincy can take on individual players. While he personally felt Kohli could have continued, he understood the pressures involved.

'Captaincy of the Indian team is a 24/7 job,' Bangar told The Rao Podcast.

'It takes a toll, with on- and off-field responsibilities like selection, non-selection, and team performance. Him giving up captaincy at that time means he is now playing with lesser responsibilities. Even though I personally feel he could have continued a bit longer as Test captain.'

Bangar also addressed Kohli's brief slump in scoring double centuries in Test matches. He revealed that Kohli made some minor adjustments to his technique and subsequently scored five double centuries in a single season.

'It is humanly impossible to sustain at the level at which he was playing between 2014 and 2019. The dip had to come. When you play with that sort of passion he was scoring daddy hundreds. But he told me that he wasn't scoring a double hundred.

'After a while he realised that there is a process to which he can make double hundreds and once he tasted that he made four or five in one season,' he added.

Kohli remains India's most successful Test captain, winning 40 out of 68 matches. In the overall list of Test captains, he follows Graeme Smith (53), Ricky Ponting (48) and Steve Waugh (41).