'Combative' Virat Kohli is 'new king of world cricket': Dean Jones

Sydney, Jan 2: Former Australian batsman Dean Jones has hailed India's new Test captain Virat Kohli as "king of world cricket" and has backed him to give the team more successes abroad.

India-Australia series schedule

Kohli was named as captain for the fourth and final Test against Australia, starting in Sydney on January 6, after MS Dhoni's sudden retirement from the five-day game. Kohli captained India in the first Test in Adelaide and hit centuries in both innings.

Jones, who is now a commentator, feels Kohli is the right man to lead India. He said captaining India is "possibly the biggest, toughest and most demanding position" in world sport.

In his column in "Sydney Morning Herald" today, Jones wrote, "Being captain of the Indian Test team is possibly the biggest, toughest and most demanding position in world sport. India are the power brokers and financiers of world cricket and I could not even imagine the pressures and responsibilities placed on people in this most prestigious role. Now we have a new king of world cricket, Virat Kohli."

"It is interesting to note that Kohli and his predecessor MS Dhoni are exact opposites. Dhoni is quite reserved, while Kohli is combative," he added.

The 53-year-old Jones said, under Kohli India will get more success overseas. "...so do the Indian fans want this type of captain, who is quite aggressive and at times belligerent? Indian fans have voiced their opinions in blogs and polls throughout India and the results are 50-50 on Kohli and his mannerisms. The majority agreed India needed Dhoni to be replaced.

"But they were split down the middle on whether Kohli was the right replacement. Can India trust Kohli to handle any hot situations? I believe Kohli is the right man for the job and will bring India more success overseas."

The Australian, who played 52 Tests, admitted Kohli had "big shoes to fill" after Dhoni's departure from the captaincy role.

"Kohli knows he has big shoes to fill. He knows he can learn a lot from Dhoni's captaincy. But he needs to lead his way. Dhoni captained the team like a python hunts for its prey. Dhoni waited for his opposition to make a mistake and would squeeze the living daylights out of them.

"Kohli, I feel, will try to win a game from ball one. Like Michael Clarke, Kohli is prepared to lose a match while trying to win. He is an aggressive batsman and his captaincy will not be any different," Jones opined.

OneIndia News