Batting legend Virender Sehwag expects Virat Kohli to take up a role similar to the one Sachin Tendulkar donned in the Indian team after giving up the captaincy.
Notably, Kohli stepped down as India’s captain from the shortest after the T20 World Cup 2021 campaign. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma has been appointed as skipper for the upcoming three-match T20I series against New Zealand at home.
According to Sehwag, Tendulkar used to share his valuable inputs while playing under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid or MS Dhoni and Kohli would serve a similar role moving ahead.
"India have got a new captain and a vice-captain and since Kohli will be around, he will certainly offer his suggestions – which he feels is right. See, even Tendulkar played for so long and did the same under so many captains. All the time, he would share his thoughts with the captain and then it was up to the skipper to implement it. Which is why Kohli said something great when he said that he and Rohit are the leaders and as long as they are around, they will help the youngsters and the captain," he said on Cricbuzz.
Sehwag stressed on the importance of grooming a youngster as vice-captain so that the transformation from deputy to skipper becomes easy.
He also cited an example, stating: "When MS Dhoni became the captain and I was made the vice-captain, I told the selectors and board that irrespective of me being the vice-captain, I would perform my responsibilities so it is better that you groom a youngster so when Dhoni leaves, he becomes the captain and not me. However, my suggestion was not heard but now with Kohli saying such things, it's a good sign."
It is worth mentioning here that the Chetan Sharma-led selection committee has named KL Rahul as vice-captain for the New Zealand T20I series, which also features Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, and Venkatesh Iyer.
The T20I series will be played from November 17 to November 21 and the games will be held in Jaipur, Ranchi, and Kolkata.
