"I would let Kohli do all his batting and make Rahane the captain"- Shane Lee

Shane Lee believes the Indian players are scared under the leadership of Virat Kohli.

Virat Kohli (L) and Ajinkya Rahane (R) | Getty

Virat Kohli handed over the captaincy of India's Test team to Ajinkya Rahane when he left the Australian shores for the birth of his first child after the loss in Adelaide Test.

Rahane pulled off a magical series win, that started with a great win in MCG, where he scored a century, and the remainder of performance will go down in history as one of the best away Test series wins by any cricket team in the world.

This series led to many former cricketers, pundits, and fans opining that Rahane might be able to lead the Indian Test team better than Virat Kohli and that the latter should step down.

Former Australian all-rounder, and 1999 World Cup winner Shane Lee, is a bird of the same flock that believes Kohli should be played as a batsman and not captain.

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Shane Lee said on the 'Afternoon Sport' podcast, "You look at Rahane, as a captain, mate he is 10 out of 10 in this series. He's been fantastic and he's led that Indian team really well. Look, I think for the team he is, and I would have him as captain. Kohli is one of the greatest batsmen of all time. But I just feel that he is almost revered by the players within the team."

"They're almost scared to put a foot out of line. He demanded absolute professionalism from the Indian team. The players had to be fit, they had to great in the field and good catching, but they almost appear a bit scared. I just see a really relaxed team under Rahane," he added.

The 47-year-old went on to say that he been the selector of the Indian cricket team, he would have asked Kohli to hand the leadership permanently to Rahane and play only as a batsman for better functioning of the team.

"Will Kohli give up the captaincy? I doubt it. If I was an Indian selector, and I'm not, but if I was, I would have Rahane captain the team and instead let Kohli go and do all his batting. And I think the team would function a lot better. But time would tell," Lee said.

 
 

By Sameer Deodhar - 01 Feb, 2021

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