Virat Kohli played a big role in turning cricket around: Ricky Ponting

Australian great Ricky Ponting hailed former captain Virat Kohli's "big role" in revolutionizing Test cricket in India and said the country's batters don't fear the big stage anymore, evidence of which is their success in challenging conditions overseas.

Ponting also lauded the contributions of former head coach Rahul Dravid, who stepped down from the post after guiding India to the T20 World Cup title triumph in June.

"Going back to Kohli's start of captaincy, (he) played a big role in turning the cricket around, and (Rahul) Dravid has continued the same in the recent four years. The influence of someone like that (Kohli) around a team would be great, and they've got star players," Ponting told Sky Sports.

Under Kohli's captaincy, India became the first Asian side to win a Test series in Australia, besides recording some memorable wins elsewhere.

With his aggressive captaincy, Kohli made everyone believe that the Indian team can win overseas as well, and his confidence rubbed on t