World class rebuttal. Who as a test captain would you say had a better decade? Not having a dig, just curious which way you'd go.
It is easy to look at matches played, results achieved etc.
First of all, cricket has no structure. India plays a whole heap of cricket much more than any other country. The amount of hype Tendulkar and Zaheer generate in our country before Kohli and Bumrah was as if they were walking gods. If you see Kallis' test records, he has almost the same numbers as them put together with bat and ball!!!!
Second, you see the resources at Kohli's disposal and the power he holds and the amount he has played at home?
For me, four captains stand out in the decade-
1) Kane Williamson- You see how much he has to play with and the team he has got around him. No question, Baz left him a foundation but as did Dhoni. You see the number of lesser players that have come through under him although he or those players never ever get the credit for it- a) BJ Watling who is by far the best keeper batsman in the world is never ever mentioned as that. But, he had his fair share of issues becoming a mainstay in the side but Williamson backed him to the hilt. Colin de Grandhomme is regularly yielding wickets with the new ball and also making crucial runs at the bottom. Henry Nicholls has evolved into a solid middle order batsman while Latham has become a fantastic middle order bat in the white ball format. These guys have all gone though scars but KW never lifted the lid on them. Less said about his conduct in victory and defeat, the better. Probably, the Roger Federer of cricket.
2) Brendon McCullum- For me, NZ cricket was headed the WI route until Baz came about and only how Baz could just took NZ cricket and wrangled it's neck upside down and established a culture that is still prevalent today. He also took over at a time where there was plenty on in team politics surrounding him and Taylor but it was all resolved amicably and even if they aren't best mates, NZ cricket was put first and they were all pro about it.
3) Tim Paine- His batting is under rated and to do what he has in the short space of time after the sheer tatters Aussie cricket was in after SA and the manner in which he has gone about it- Pure class!
4) Misbah Ul Haq- I am unsure when the spot fixing scandal took place but it was probably early 11 or late 10 and I don't need to elaborate on the turmoil PAK cricket was in at the time. They still don't have cricket at home but at least Misbah put a sense of respectability back on the face of PAK cricket and then took them to number 1 with some quite brilliant performances abroad.
If you just want to look at it from a results point of view, then both Williamson and Paine have won big series overseas which Kohli only did once in Australia when the two main Aussie batters were out. So, yes, numbers can say one thing but if you really compare resources and hardships to results, Kohli is absolutely nowhere. No other captain in the world is the be all and end all of their cricketing decisions or enjoys this level of power and remuneration.
