Kamran Akmal is impressed with Indian cricket team's performance under the leadership of Virat Kohli.
Pakistan's veteran wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal has backed captain Virat Kohli after he received criticism over India's defeat in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand. It was the second time India lost an ICC tournament final under Kohli's captaincy.
But rebuffing all the blame on the India skipper, Akmal said Kohli is a wonderful leader. India has been outstanding in Test cricket under Kohli and their performance in the last few years is evidence of the same.
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While speaking on the ‘My Master Cricket Coach’ YouTube channel, Akmal said Kohli has been a bit unlucky but he's a match-winner. “Virat Kohli is a big player and a fantastic captain. He is aggressive and very emotional. Any captain who has come in has only taken Indian cricket forward.
"It started with Sourav Ganguly, then Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni took over. Yes, everyone has complained that Virat Kohli hasn’t won any ICC trophy. But, apart from that, he has won almost everything. India have won so many series’ under Virat Kohli.
“He has been a bit unlucky, but I have no doubt over his captaincy credentials. He is a great captain and match-winner,” Akmal said.
India's senior men team have last won an ICC tournament in 2013 when they defeated England in the final of the Champions Trophy to lift the trophy. The Pakistan cricketer wants Indian team management to analyze the reason behind their failure in knockout matches.
“It (India not winning ICC events) is not completely Virat Kohli’s fault. What is the guarantee that another captain can come in and win India an ICC trophy? As a team, they have to analyze why they are not winning the big events. They reach the last stages but fail at the final hurdle. It will be unfair to blame only Virat Kohli. According to me, as long as he feels that he can do the job, he should continue,” he added.