Former India cricketer Kiran More has backed Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli after questions over his leadership. India has lost four consecutive Test matches under his captaincy.
Joe Root-led England side defeated India in the first Test at Chennai by 227 runs. Before this match, Kohli had captained India in the opening Test on the Australia tour and two matches in New Zealand which India lost.
In an exclusive interview with journalist Indranil Basu for SK Live, the former India chairman of selectors More said Kohli knows when to step down, like his predecessor MS Dhoni.
“Virat Kohli is our no.1 player. He’s the best. It’s too early to debate on the captaincy. Virat is known for his honesty. He’s a guy who knows when to go (from captaincy) just like MS Dhoni did. India did well in Australia this time. They did well there under Virat Kohli as well.
“All the energies should go into planning for winning the next Test. I feel India will come back strong. We have now played one Test in these conditions (after a long tour in Australia) and our bowlers will bowl better here. Even our batters will be better at countering James Anderson, Jofra Archer, and others,” said More.
India has been nearly invincible at home under Kohli's captaincy. Before this match, they last lost a Test match in India against Australia in 2017.
Team India are currently eyeing a place in the World Test Championship final. They need to win the series by 2-1 or 3-1 to ensure a spot and More said a loss in the next match could put India under huge pressure.
“No captain doesn’t like to lose Tests. Having lost a few Tests (four in a row), there will be some pressure on Virat Kohli. He will definitely be thinking about it. For me, I wouldn’t think about the Indian captaincy at the moment. If we lose the next Test, there will be a lot of pressure on us. Then there can be the debate about the captaincy,” More added.
(With SportsKeeda Inputs)
