Virat Kohli or Joe Root: After leading 68 Test matches, who’s the better captain?

Dubai: Virat Kohli and Joe Root are two of the greatest batsmen of this generation. While they have frequently been compared with their batting stats, their Test captaincy is now also put on table.

Following England’s 8-wicket victory over Pakistan in the third Test, Root completed his 68^th game as skipper in red ball cricket. Meanwhile Kohli, who stepped down from Test cricket captaincy in 2022, has also led India the same number of times in Test cricket.

The identical number of games as the skipper immediately raised the question, who’s the better captain?

Across 68 Tests, Root has 30 wins, 27 defeats and 11 draws, giving him a winning percentage of around 44.1%. Nevertheless, Kohli’s numbers remain stronger on paper.

He won 40 of his 68 Tests as India captain, losing 17 and drawing 11, with a win percentage of 58.82%. He remains India’s most successful Test captain by wins.

Both men have faced each other in three series as the Test captains, two of them taking place in England. They have won 6 games against each other, once again leaving very little for a comparison between them.

Root first became England’s Test captain in 2017 after replacing Alastair Cook. He stepped down in 2022 after leading England to a record 64 Tests, with 27 wins.

Root was temporarily assigned the captaincy during the New Zealand series earlier this year following Ben Stokes’ suspension. He was reappointed permanently on July 30 as Ben Stokes announced his retirement.

Root’s 30 wins put him among an elite group of Test captains and make him England’s record holder for victories, surpassing Michael Vaughan’s 26. Despite the demands of captaincy, he maintained a batting average close to 47 while leading England.

Meanwhile Kohli took over India’s Test captaincy after MS Dhoni’s retirement in 2014. Under him, India won all 11 Test series at home without losing one.

He also led India to their first Test series victory in Australia during 2018-19 and kept them at No.1 in the ICC Test rankings for five straight years from 2016 to 2021.

Kohli also guided India to the inaugural World Test Championship final in 2021 and scored seven Test double centuries, the most by any Test captain in the format. Three years after stepping down from captaincy, Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket in 2025.

Nevertheless, the numbers give Kohli the stronger win record, while Root’s 30 victories make his leadership record historic for England. As the former Indian remains retired from the Test format, Root has another chance to make an impact as the skipper.