'Kohli told me that India will become No 1 in Tests and he wasn't wrong' - Allan Donald

Gone are the days when Indians were trolled for being home track bullies. India today is one of the most ruthless units going around and has tasted success in every major country. They have twin series wins in Australia, won matches in West Indies, South Africa, and England. They are 1-0 up in the ongoing series against the 'Three Lions' and have played some astounding cricket in the two matches. They were in a commanding position to win the first Test but rain played spoilsport on Day 5 and robbed India of a win. In the second Test, India came back from behind to clinch the game.

The seeds of India being an all-round side was sowed in 2014-15 when new players were drafted into the side after the retirement of fab 4. Over the years, India had a decent batting line up but they didn’t quite have the bowling to bowl out the opposition. However, the emergence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah made them a side that can win against all teams, in all conditions. The credit for inducing self-belief and aggression in the team goes to Indian skipper Virat Kohli who sets very high standards.

Former South Africa pacer Allan Donald recalled an incident when Virat Kohli told him that India will become the No 1 team in the World. Donald added that Kohli’s team has become what the skipper wanted them to be.

“I remember Virat’s words in 2015 when he said to me India will become world’s No.1 Test team and he wasn’t wrong,” Donald said in a video on YouTube channel Cricket Life Stories. “He knew where he was going.

He said: ‘I want this to be the fittest team, I want us to be the greatest team on the planet, knowing that we can play away from home, knowing we can beat anyone and that’s going to take a very good bowling attack to do so.'”