India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has said that Virat Kohli has taken the Test side to a very strong place and would be having a very good reason behind leaving captaincy in the longest format. He also opined how new India coach Rahul Dravid will manage his players’ workload.
Kohli stepped down as India Test captain after the 1-2 Test series loss to South Africa. He had quit as T20I captain after the T20 World Cup 2021, where India was eliminated in the league stage.
In the aftermath of him quitting as T20I skipper, the BCCI replaced him as ODI captain as well, with Rohit Sharma taking over the reins in white-ball cricket.
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"I remember MS Dhoni saying very clearly that India as a cricketing nation is very hard to have split captaincy. It is unfair for me to answer this question because only Virat knows why he took that decision to step down as captain, and I am sure he has a good reason behind it. He has led India so well and taken the Test team to a very strong place. As a person who has been part of the team and has played under him, I know the amount of effort he puts in every time he goes out on the field," Dinesh Karthik told ANI.
"He gives it everything he has. It has been a great joy for me to have been part of that journey. He has been one of the top captains for India in Test cricket. I hope when he turns back, he looks at all the pleasant memories and the good memories and he has a good time thinking about the success he has had as the captain," added the 36-year-old wicketkeeper-batter.
When India takes the field against West Indies in the first ODI of the three-match series on February 6, it will become the first team to play 1000 ODI matches in international cricket.
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Dinesh Karthik called it a phenomenal achievement given that India played its first-ever ODI in 1974. He further talked about new head coach Rahul Dravid managing the workload of the players and said that he will encourage the players to open up about how they are doing mentally and physically.
Talking about this milestone, Karthik said: "To be the first team to play 1000 ODIs is a phenomenal achievement. It is hard to put it into perspective considering India has been playing for a long time now. But to play 1000 ODIs is no joke. I am so proud to be part of that journey. I have enjoyed playing the ODI format. We have been good at it. We have been a strong force over a period of few decades.
"We do have a lot of matches but players are given ample opportunity to rest. Rahul Dravid is the kind of person who will encourage players to speak how they are feeling mentally and physically. He will accommodate players' wishes in terms of giving rest, so I think India is in a very safe space right now," Karthik said.
(ANI inputs)
