After facing the embarrassing loss in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand, Indian captain Virat Kohli has come under the scanner for his leadership. Several fans and experts of the fascinating game have shown their disappointment and raised many questions on Kohli’s captaincy.
Some have even suggested few other names like Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma to be the potential candidates to replace Kohli as the captain of Team India. The admirers often compare Kohli’s leadership to former skipper MS Dhoni, who won as many as three ICC titles (2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 World Cup, and 2013 Champions Trophy). In contrast, the Delhi-lad hasn’t yet won India an ICC trophy.
Speaking about the red-hot topic, former India cricketer Suresh Raina has defended Kohli, stating that the 32-year-old is one of the finest captains India has ever seen. Raina mentioned that Kohli hasn’t even won a trophy in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and despite that, it’s too early to pass any judgment on his achievements, and he should be given more time.
“I think he has been the No. 1 captain. His record proves that he has achieved a lot. I think he is the No. 1 batsman in the world. You’re talking about an ICC trophy, but he hasn’t even won an IPL yet. I feel that he needs to be given some time. There are 2-3 World Cups taking place one after the other – two T20 World Cups and then the 50-over World Cup. It’s not easy to reach the final – sometimes you miss out on a few things,” Raina told News24.
After the WTC final, many fans across the world started calling Team India as ‘chokers’. Raina also responded to this emotion of fans and said India has already won quite a few ICC titles, so a choker tag is baseless.
“We are not chokers because we already have the 1983 World Cup, 2007 T20 World Cup the then 50-over World Cup in 2011. We need to understand that players are training hard. With three World Cups approaching, I don’t think anyone will call them chokers,” added Raina.
