Former England captain Kevin Pietersen said that Virat Kohli is an entertainer and feels the harsh bio-bubble life has affected him like many others, while citing that can be one of the reasons for the India superstar quitting Test captaincy.
Last week, Kohli stunned the cricketing world by quitting the Test captaincy of the Indian cricket team after the tourists suffered a 1-2 series loss to South Africa.
Pietersen told PTI: “People who are critical of the modern-day sportsmen I think are foolish because these bio-bubbles are very hard to play in. It will be very unfair to be too harsh, to be critical.”
The commentator continued, “Because you have not looked at Virat Kohli. Kohli needs crowds, he gets going (from it); he is an entertainer. I think it’s very difficult for his personality to perform to the best of his (Kohli’s) abilities (in the bubble).”
Pietersen also said that he was not surprised by Kohli’s decision to quit captaincy from all formats. The 41-year-old said: “A lot of players have suffered. It is the greatest job in the world. But when you put them in a bubble, it’s certainly not the greatest job because there is no fun.”
He added, “I’m actually not surprised that Virat wants just a little bit of a break from that extra pressure because it’s damn difficult playing in these bubbles. It’s very difficult to judge all International sportsmen, be it premier league footballers or any sportsman around the world, playing in a pandemic.”
Pietersen also backed India’s white-ball captain, Rohit Sharma, to be named Test captain also. He added, “I’ve always loved ‘Hitman’ Rohit Sharma. He’s a fabulous player, every time he’s batting I’ve got to watch. His captaincy is great for the Mumbai Indians too. So he’s probably next in line.”
Recently, Sunil Gavaskar has suggested Rishabh Pant’s name for the Test captaincy, but Pietersen feels it would be too early to give the youngster India’s captaincy.
He signed off by saying, “You are spoilt for choice… But Pant not yet, maybe one day… But when you have got Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul you got some mighty cricketers.”
(With PTI Inputs)
