The former India batsman and skipper, Sunil Gavaskar, stressed that captain, Virat Kohli, has played a big role in India's ODI
victories in this decade.
According to
the ‘Little Master’, Kohli had an impact on the matches that
India won while chasing in the last ten years and records also support
Gavaskar's argument. Kohli has the most hundreds while chasing targets. Out of
the 43 centuries he has scored so far, 26 came while chasing which shows the
consistency with which he has been in forefront of the Indian batting line-up.
Gavaskar spoke on how Kohli was the most impactful player in ODIs in this
decade for India. “I think
if you look as an individual then certainly it's got to be Virat Kohli because
if you look at the number of matches he's won for India when India have been
chasing big scores”, he said. On
the other hand former Australian opener Matthew Hayden believes former skipper
MS Dhoni has been the most impactful player in ODIs for India in this decade. Dhoni as captain bagged two major titles
for India in this decade -- the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy.
Hayden added that World Cup is a "real big milestone" for him. Hayden said, “I think it's really important and significant
that MS Dhoni has won a World Cup and a Champions Trophy. That World Cup for
me, that's a real big milestone. I have mentioned before we have played loads
of cricket in the one-day format and I just feel that when it comes to being
ready for a World Cup, you not only got to have a good leader but you also need
to have a calm strong player in the middle order like he has”.
India and Australia will now be seen in
action in the upcoming four-match Test series. The first match will be a
day-night affair and Kohli will head back home after the first Test as he has
been granted
paternity leave by the BCCI.