Former Indian cricketer Madan Lal expressed surprise at Virat Kohli’s decision’s to quit the Indian cricket team’s Test captaincy, saying it is very saddening to him and he wanted Kohli to continue as Test captain for 2-3 years more.
Kohli has shocked the entire cricketing world by announcing he was quitting Team India’s Test captaincy after his team’s 1-2 Test series loss to South Africa.
He holds the record for most Test appearances as India Test captain (68) and for most Test wins by an Indian captain (40). Kohli is only behind Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, and Steve Waugh in the list of most wins as Test captain.
Lal told ANI: “These decisions are personal decisions whatever he has taken but his achievements will always be with him because he is the most successful captain-- the fourth most successful in the world. But I am a little surprised because it did not seem that he was going to quit captaincy the way he was captaining. He was a passionate captain, a captain who always wanted to win. So, when we see such things on TV, then we feel that he is enjoying Test captaincy but suddenly he has dropped a bomb and has taken everyone by surprise.”
He added, “I wanted him to captain India more because this Virat Kohli has built this Indian team. We became number one in Test cricket. He has also built a strong unit of pace bowlers. Today India's pace battery is world-renowned and it has happened because of his achievements. When you win Test matches, then it reflects on ODIs and T20Is. So, this guy has done everything.
As a captain, he found out the weak points and strengthened them to make India a strong team. So, the entire credit goes to Virat Kohli. For me, it is very saddening. He should have continued as Test captain for 2-3 years more. If you see his performance, then it is already there.
It is wrong when people say he has not scored a hundred for so many years because he is still contributing. It is not that he is not contributing. You can't score a century every time. We expect in India that a batter will go and score a century every day which is not possible in cricket. His performances are there in winning causes. The best thing I like about him is his passion for the game.”
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Hailing his captaincy, the former all-rounder added, “Earlier it was said that Indian players are very quiet but he came as a captain and showed it to the world that even we can win and we are passionate about winning the game. It was indeed a shock for me and I wish he could have captained India more for 1-2 years more.
I think the biggest reason to quit captaincy was when he said that he wants to continue as 50 over and Test match captain and then he was removed from 50 over then he was not happy about it. This is my personal opinion and maybe he was not too happy about it but as a player, I don't think it will affect his game as he is the number one batter in the world.”
The former cricketer also suggested India's next Test captain should either be Rohit Sharma or KL Rahul.
Lal signed off by saying, “He knows what his job is because in cricket if you keep performing then you will keep playing. So, he is aware of his responsibilities. India's next Test captain should either be Rohit Sharma or KL Rahul. I am not in favor of Rishabh Pant. He needs to be groomed and he will have more experience in coming years till the time Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are playing.”
(With ANI Inputs)
