Swashbuckling superstar batsman Virat Kohli often courted controversy during his seven-year innings as India's Test captain but took the team to unprecedented heights before resigning from the role on Saturday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Under him a team ranked seventh when he was appointed rose to the top of the world Test rankings, notching a first-ever series win in Australia in 2019.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But they lost 2-0 in New Zealand in 2020, going down to the Black Caps again in last year's World Test Championship final.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Earlier this week he was seen talking to the stump microphone at Cape Town in an angry outburst at a DRS call as India lost the series to South Africa 2-1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Kohli was named Test skipper -- one of India's highest-profile positions -- in 2014, becoming captain across all formats three years later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He had giant shoes to fill with his predecessor MS Dhoni leading India to two World Cup titles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But the middle-class Delhi man built a reputation for in-your-face aggression and exemplary batting, earning comparisons with the great Sachin Tendulkar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Australian Test series triumph underlined his leadership skills in the longest format of the game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Dubbed 'King Kohli' by Indian media, he finishes with 40 wins and 17 losses in 68 Tests as captain -- the best percentage of any Indian skipper.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Virat, you can go with your head held high," said former India all-rounder and coach Ravi Shastri, who stepped down as coach after the T20 World Cup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Few have achieved what you have as captain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Definitely India's most aggressive and successful."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But Kohli's inability to win a world title remained a persistent target of critics who slammed his leadership skills in the limited-overs format.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India's cricket chief Sourav Ganguly called the team's Twenty20 World Cup performance last year as the "poorest" after they failed to make the semi-finals.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Kohli decided to quit the T20 job after the World Cup and was soon removed as the ODI captain as well, with Rohit Sharma taking over the white-ball duties.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After India's exit in the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-finals against New Zealand Kohli said "45 minutes of bad cricket knocked us out".<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But he had little defence to offer for the debacle in the T20 World Cup when they lost two straight games to arch-rivals Pakistan and New Zealand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Kohli led from the front with his attacking batting and was never shy of expressing himself on the field, with many run-ins with opposition players.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He once stopped just short of calling Steve Smith a cheat after the Australia skipper looked up to his dressing room for advice on a DRS call and Kohli was not amused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Kohli took fitness to another level and was responsible for making India a team of fast bowlers who performed at home and overseas.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The likes of Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma became a force to be reckoned with in world cricket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Now Kohli will look to improve his batting, which has seen a run of poor form recently, as he prepares for what is expected to be his 100th Test against Sri Lanka next month.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It's been seven years of hard work, toil and relentless perseverance every day," he said in his Twitter announcement he was quitting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n