Is Virat Kohli Ready to Replace Mahendra Singh Dhoni as Captain? Time will Tell, says Gavaskar

Former Indian Test captain Sunil Gavaskar is not willing to comment on Virat Kohli as a Test captain. While Mahendra Singh Dhoni's departure as Team India's Test skipper provides a massive opportunity to the young Kohli, Gavaskar is perhaps not sure if batting skill is the only quality needed to be an astute leader.

The best of Test captains were a combination of several things. Dhoni played 90 Tests and captained in 60 of them. While his 4876 runs at a decent average of 38.09 underlined his batting skills deep down the middle-order, what made Dhoni stand out was his cool demeanour and the ability  to command the respect of teammates and rivals with sobriety and of course, playing skills, especially to hold fort during pressure moments. (Dhoni Knew Kohli Was Ready: Gavaskar)

According to Gavaskar, 26-year-old Kohli is part of India's 'hype' generation -- aggressive, arrogant and a self-styled young man for whom the sky is the limit. Dhoni was more conservative in his ways and translated his arrogance to powerful strokes. With a strong bottom hand, Dhoni was not a classical batsman but with more than 10,000 international runs, he was one of the greatest finishers of the game. For 'old-fashioned' Gavaskar, runs certainly matter but it is imperative to behave on and off the field. "Aggression can be counter-productive," Gavaskar said of Kohli's Melbourne spats.

During the course of the Boxing Day Test, Gavaskar praised Kohli's batting skills to the hilt. But when it came to Kohli's behavior and the propensity to engage into a war of words with the Aussies, Gavaskar was clearly not amused. Like a classical opener, Gavaskar is watchful and would offer no comments on Kohli, the Test captain. He told NDTV: "Well, he has been vice-captain on a few trip and the selectors think he is the man to succeed Dhoni. Whether he is ready, only time will tell." Kohli, who led in the first Test at Adelaide, will lead in the fourth at Sydney.

Gavaskar feels 33-year-old Dhoni would be missed "big time" as a cricketer and a keeper. "He had three years of cricket left in him. I think the burden got a little too heavy. There are times when you try enough but things don't happen. Probably, that's what happened to him," said Gavaskar. (Tendulkar Leads Twitter Tribute After Dhoni Retires)

"The next captain may not be tactically better but he may just have better luck. So, he can make a difference," said Gavaskar, hoping India will turn the corner when travelling on challenging tours like England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. (Emotional Fans Flood Twitter)

"I have been a captain myself and you enjoy the responsibility to groom a young team. It's been a huge learning curve and I think the pressure got to him," Gavaskar said, hinting that had India won in Melbourne, Sydney would have been an appropriate to announce the retirement. "He definitely did not desert a sinking ship," Gavaskar said. India were already 2-0 down coming into MCG.