Sourav Ganguly explains why Virat Kohli as captain is a notch above MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid

Virat Kohli's biggest contribution to Indian cricket is, perhaps, the all-or-nothing attitude he has ingrained in each and every player who represents the country.

Whether at home or overseas, Team India doesn't simply show up to play a game of cricket, it shows up to win. And the credit for that goes to Kohli.

The 29-year-old has often spoken about how individual performances don't matter to him, least of all his own achievements with the bat. All he cares for is the team's victory.

After a historic 5-1 ODI series sweep in South Africa, Kohli kept insisting on how his players 'will need to give 120 per cent till the end of the tour'. He demanded a dominating series win in the ensuing three-match T20 series as well.

Critics might argue that Kohli doesn't have the technical acumen that some of the great captains of the game were blessed with. They might have a fair point. Having said that, no one, absolutely no one, can fault Kohli's desire to win. And as astonishing as it is, this very desire is the reason behind India's success of late.

Kohli's passion on the field rubs off on his teammates, pushing them to give their absolute best. This virtue of the Indian skipper, perhaps, trumps any technical knowledge a captain might have.

The cherry on the cake, of course, is the mind-boggling number of runs Kohli has scored ever since he has become the captain of the Indian cricket team. Some players in the past, legends included, succumbed to the burden of captaincy and saw their batting averages drop drastically. Kohli, on the other hand, thrives as a leader, using it as an incentive to give his best.

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly summed it up nicely when he analysed Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rahul Dravid's captaincy.

"I have seen MS Dhoni captain, I have seen Rahul Dravid captain but I have never seen anyone perform this consistently with the bat as captain as Kohli has," Ganguly was quoted as saying by India Today.

Dada couldn't have said it better. Dhoni, Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly himself were fine captains and batsmen, but none of them tasted success in both departments at one time for a considerable period. They either had a great run with the bat, or as captains. Both phases rarely coincided. That, however, is not the case with Kohli.

Long may the Indian captain lead his country to victories, long may his bat rule the world.