Former India batsman Anshuman Gaekwad believes the current Indian team operating under Virat Kohli is probably the best in history of Indian cricket. Since taking over India’s full-time Test captaincy in 2015 and in ODIs in 2017, Kohli has led the team to a Test series win in West Indies and Australia, and to the pinnacle of the ICC Test rankings. Besides, Kohli’s Indian team brags quite possibly the best fast bowling line-up in the world in the presence of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma.

Gaekwad, who played for India for 12 years – between 1975 and 1987 – feels the current crop of players could well be the best the Indian team has put together in years.

“If you ask me, I believe that he (Virat Kohli) has the best possible team in Indian history,” Gaekwad told SportsKeeda in an interview. “Bowling, batting, balance of team is the best. Up till now, we had no pace bowlers. We had Karsan, Roger, Kapil, but they didn’t win matches for you all the time. Today, they have a battery of pacers with options, and they are winning matches for you.”

Under Kohli, India reached the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy and the semifinal of the 2019 World Cup. Most of the times, Kohli has led by example but Gaekwad believes his ability to bring the best out of players is what takes the cake. Gaekwad, who served as coach of the Indian team in the late 1990s, compared Kohli’s captaincy to Sachin Tendulkar’s to highlight a magnificent aspect of the India skipper.

“It is only a question of time. I had a word with Sachin Tendulkar when he left captaincy, I tried to convince him but he felt that he is giving 110 percent, and why can’t the others (do the same),” Gaekwad said. “As a captain, one must understand that every individual is different. You can give 110, but others can give only 90, 95 percent. How to convert that into 100 percent? That is what we need to work on.”