Legendary Australia captain Steve Waugh says he can see elements of himself and his successor Ricky Ponting in current Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

But Waugh insists Kohli is firmly his own man, labelling his combative style "the new face of India".

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While only in the early stages of his captaincy career, Kohli has already built an impressive record and stands alongside Waugh and Ponting as the three most successful captains in the game's history.

Of players to have captained their country in 25 Tests or more, Waugh and Ponting - terrific leaders who were also blessed to have some of the greatest players of all time in their sides - lead the way with winning percentages of 71.92 and 62.33 per cent, respectively.

But Kohli is not far behind having lost just three of 26 Tests in charge to earn a win percentage of 61.53 per cent.

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While the two great Australians had their unique characteristics, Waugh says there's a little of himself and Ponting in the way Kohli leads his side.

"He's obviously a very aggressive captain, he encourages a lot of talk amongst his troops and he's got positive body language," Waugh said in a live chat on his Facebook page.

"And they're all the traits that I liked in my sides.

"I always believed the way you carry yourself is important, that you give off positive vibes to each other and the opposition sort of sense that 'this is a team that's really together'.

"Virat Kohli certainly does that. His players play for him, which is a great sign for a captain.

"Ricky Ponting was a similar type of player; he'd roll his sleeves up, get stuck in, he'd go into bat pad if he needed to and led by example. And Virat Kohli certainly does that."

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Kohli has been at the centre of a fiery series against Australia in the past month, even though his returns with the bat have been well below his normal high standards.

While his output with the bat had been minimal, Kohli has been his normal fiery self in the field and has regularly motioned for the crowd to give his team a lift.

Waugh cautioned Kohli earlier this month about revving up the crowd when the bowler was running in, but added he enjoyed the Indian's aggressive approach to the game.

And he says he leaves his teammates in no doubt as to the example he wants them to lead.

"There's probably elements of Ricky and myself in his captaincy, but having said that he's his own man," Waugh said.

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"He's the new face of India, he can get in your face, he's aggressive, he's positive, and he leads in a certain way so the other guys know how he wants the team to play.

"(But also) I'm glad he's got a bit of me in his captaincy."

Most successful Test captains (by winning percentage, minimum 25 matches)

Steve Waugh (Australia) - 71.92% (41 wins from 57 Tests)

Ricky Ponting (Australia) - 62.33% (48 wins from 77 Tests)

Virat Kohli (India) - 61.53% (16 wins from 26 Tests)

Mike Brearley (England) - 58.06% (18 wins from 31 Tests)

Bill Woodfull (Australia) - 56.00% (14 wins from 25 Tests)