Sports

SUNIL Gavaskar Questions Kohli’s Captaincy After India Lost Series Against England

FORMER India Captain turned commentator Sunil Gavaskar is among his countless compatriots who are shocked after India has lost the cricket series against England on the English soil. He has gone to the extent of questioning captaincy of Virat Kohli who has taken over from iconic cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The nation exuded confidence that Kohli would further improve India’s performance away from home. With  the two  countries  yet to play  the last test, Mumbai based  Gavaskar , 69, still considered one of the best opening batsmen the game has ever produced,  had earlier questioned Hardik Pandya’s  credentials  as an all-rounder  following India’s defeat in the Southampton Test before slamming India’s over-reliance on Kohli’s batting prowess.”Everybody would be disappointed looking at the result because when Virat Kohli took over as captain, it seemed like the team would head into a new direction under him. The team looked hungry to win and seemed more hopeful of doing well under Kohli. Everyone thought that he will bring in a lot more josh, a lot more energy into the team. So quite naturally, there will be questions asked about his captaincy,” Gavaskar told Sports Tak.”Everybody knew that the three toughest series for India was going to be in South Africa, England and the forthcoming Australia tour. Before this all that India played were more like practice tours in Sri Lanka and West Indies,” Gavaskar said with a heavy heart.

He  also recalled that India’s comeback to win a Test series against Australia last year after losing the first one  gave an impression that Kohli led team won’t back down to face any challenge. Captain Kohli, who is amassing runs across three formats, is only as good as a team adding that had any other batsman, in addition to Kohli, had scored 400-500 runs in a Test series in South Africa and England, India would not have lost both the series.  Virat Kohli has made 544 runs in  four  out of the five-match Test series against England but  none  other Indian batsmen have managed to go past 300 runs. The scenario was no different in South Africa earlier this year where Kohli scored 286 runs across three Tests and was the highest run-getter (overall) in the series.”Even the way in which India came back to beat Australia in the Test series last year after losing the first match, that gave us the impression that India wouldn’t back down to any challenge under captain Kohli. It seemed India would always play with their heads held high. But the captain is only as good as his team. As a batsman Kohli has lived up to the expectations and even more. He has done everything possible as a batsman,” said Gavaskar.”If only the other batsmen could have played like him. If any other batsman could have scored over 400-500 runs then India wouldn’t have lost Test series in South Africa and in England, he added.

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