4 Primary characteristics of Virat Kohli's leadership

Virat Kohli's leadership has been under the scanner since the time India lost the first Test during the England series. Almost every aspect of his leadership was discussed at length by experts.

Kohli came out trumps as a batsman but the same cannot be said about his leadership. Kohli is a fiery character, he likes to fight fire with fire and expects his team to do the same. Kohli has gone on record to say that he plays a Test match to win and drawing a Test match will never be his endeavour.

Kohli's approach has yielded mixed results, so far. Let us dissect his leadership style a bit more and discuss the four primary characteristics of his leadership method:

---

#4 Imposing personality

England v India: Specsavers 5th Test - Day Five

Kohli's team bears a stamp of Virat Kohli's the player all around. He plays an attacking brand of cricket and expects his team to do the same. His selection also reflects this fact about his captaincy- giving Shikhar Dhawan (who is an attacking player) a long rope and dropping Cheteshwar Pujara from the side at the drop of a hat. Ajinkya Rahane has also been a victim of this approach.

Players who can't replicate this approach of Kohli on the ground, have often been found on no man's land under his leadership.

#3 Plays to win

England v India: Specsavers 3rd Test - Day Three

During his very first Test match as a captain (at Adelaide, 2014) Kohli announced his approach of play to win to the world. He went on record to say that he always plays to win and being a man of his word he has maintained that approach till date. Kohli's team never plays for a draw which was evident in recent contests against South Africa and England.

There is a bit of criticism of this approach as some experts say that it is fine to go for a win, but, it is also important to know the art of not losing a test match.

#2 Doesn't believe in giving a long rope to new players

ICC World Twenty20 India 2016: Semi-Final: West Indies v India

As a leader, Kohli has not been able to bring any new player to the forefront of international cricket, this can be attributed to the fact that he doesn't believe in giving a long rope to new players. Not giving a long rope to new players is something which doesn't appear to be conscious on Kohli's part, it may be boiled down to the fact he always wants to win and as a result, doesn't want to take a chance.

This approach can backfire at times as the discovery of new talent is imperative for the sustained success of any cricket team or for that matter in any other sport.

#1 Likes to take more responsibility and leads by example

India v Ireland - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup

One thing that stands about captain Kohli is the way he leads by example. He has scored tons of runs as a captain which speaks volumes about his ability to take the pressure. In fact, whenever there is an opportunity he likes to take additional responsibility, a testimony to this fact is - invariably he has emerged as the highest run-getter for India during the Test series' he has played as a captain.