Former England captain Alastair Cook has questioned Virat Kohli’s approach after Team India’s massive defeat in the first Test against England, saying the Indian skipper wasn’t himself as a captain in Chennai.
India captain Kohli came under the scanner after his forgettable outing both as captain and batsman in the first defeat Test of the ongoing four-match Test series in Chennai on Tuesday (February 9).
Root has scored a double ton on his 100th Test match and lead the tourists from front to a 227-run win over India in the first Test – England’s sixth successive overseas victory in Test cricket, whereas Kohli scored 11 and 72 in the first Test and lost 4th consecutive Test as captain.
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It was India’s only second Test loss at home since 2013, in Chennai – where Kohli and his team followed a relaxed style which worked for India led by Ajinkya Rahane in Australia last month.
Ever since Rahane led the Indian cricket team to a historic Test series win 2-1 in Australia, many believed his calm and composed style helped India to win the series and the side should continue to follow the style with some calling him to replace Kohli as India’s Test captain.
Cook feels the talks of the Indian team preferring a more calming and composed environment after successful Australia Test tour had an impact on Kohli's approach as a captain in the first Test, suggesting the dashing cricketer to stick to his natural style and be aggressive and animated as always while leading India, as the style has brought him success as captain so far.
He also said if Kohli was being soft on purpose because of those talks, it would not help him and the Indian team at all while pointing out that India was lackadaisical in the first innings that’s where the hosts went wrong and suffered a massive defeat against England in the first Test.
Kohli’s natural element was seen in the second innings as he was fired up whenever India picked a wicket and former England captain is expecting to “see more of that animation” in the remaining Tests.
Cook was quoted as saying by Sky Sports: “In that first innings, India was lackadaisical. In the second innings, Kohli was back to what he was, so I imagine we'll see more of that [animation].”
He signed off by saying, “Was that a deliberate ploy from Kohli because it was mentioned that India preferred that relaxed style? It didn't work for him. It's not his natural way, so he's got to carry on doing what he does because they have been successful.”
