With India preparing for a crucial five-match Test series in England without their two modern giants Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Vaughan didn’t shy away from reminding the world the sterling impact that Kohli had on Test cricket. For Vaughan, Kohli (the face, the voice, and the soul of modern day Test cricket) was the man of the match. The fervour he brought in to each session, each single and each stare-downs, it got eyeballs back to the format when the world was looking towards the glamour of T20s.
Michael Vaughan About Virat Kohli’s Test Cricket
“More than 30 years, I don’t believe there is any individual who has done more for the Test format than Virat. When he took the captaincy just over a decade ago, I was worried India was losing interest in Test cricket. MS Dhoni was one of the great white-ball players but it felt like he captained a Test team who did not love the format. The game needs India to be madly in love with Test cricket, and that is what Virat fostered as captain. His passion, skill, and the way he talked about Test cricket always being the pinnacle has been a huge shot in the arm for the format. Test cricket would have been a far blander place without him, and there is a chance it would have lost its appeal if he had not been as interested and invested in it,” wrote Vaughan.
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Virat Kohli’s Absence Felt Strongly Ahead Of England Tour
“His battles with Anderson, not least at Edgbaston in 2018, were magnificent, a great spectacle. It was a proper heavyweight contest, with two world beaters going up against each other. It was so enthralling. Jimmy often had the wood over Kohli and with him gone, I thought he’d come out and play with a real flamboyancy this summer, and go on the attack.”
“India will miss him. I do wonder if he fancied another crack at the captaincy but wasn’t given that opportunity. I think if he wanted it, I would have given it to him for this tour because there was some unfinished business in England.”
