Virat Kohli will no longer continue as T20I captain of Indian cricket team.
Virat Kohli on Monday (November 8) led India's T20I team for the last time as they got knocked out of the T20 World Cup 2021 in the Super 12 stage. He had already announced his decision to leave the T20I captaincy after the tournament.
Former Pakistan cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed feels 'all is not well' in the Indian dressing room after Kohli's decision to quit captaincy of the shortest format. He said the Indian dressing room is divided into two groups.
“When a successful captain says he wants to leave the captaincy, it means all is not well in the dressing room. I see two groups in the Indian dressing room right now-the Mumbai and Delhi groups,” he said.
Mushtaq thinks Kohli may hang up his boots from T20I cricket soon and will play only in the IPL. “I think Kohli will soon retire from playing T20 internationals for his country although he will continue in the Indian Premier League. I think he has had his fill of this format,” he said on the Geo News channel.
India couldn't qualify for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2021 after losing to Pakistan and New Zealand. It was their first-ever defeat against the arch-rivals Pakistan in the ICC World Cup tournaments.
The ex-Pakistan cricketer blamed IPL for India's early exit in the tournament. “I think India flopped in the World Cup because of the IPL. I think their players after remaining for so long in a biosecure bubble before the World Cup were jaded and tired," he said.
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq also agreed and said the players were mentally tired after being in bio-bubble for so long.
“I agree with what Ravi Shastri has said that the Indian players were just not mentally prepared for the World Cup. They were tired after the IPL and jaded and this could be seen in their early-round matches,” Inzamam said.
(With the Geo News inputs)