Former India opener, Gautam Gambhir has expressed his views of Virat Kohli’s captaincy and what RCB should do ahead if they are to succeed.
When asked during a live interaction on ESPN Cricinfo as to whether RCB should make changes to their captaincy, Gambhir said, “100%, because the problem is about accountability. Eight years into the tournament [without a trophy], eight years is a long time.”
He further added, Tell me any other captain…forget about the captain, tell me any other player who would have got eight years and wouldn’t have won the title and would have still continued with it. So it has to be accountability. A captain needs to take accountability.”
Gambhir who has been known for his clarity of thought while talking cricket didn’t shy away while talking about the RCB skipper and how his time has been at RCB.
“It’s not only about one year, it’s not only about this. I have nothing against Virat Kohli but somewhere down the line, he needs to put his hand up and say, ‘yes, I am responsible. I am accountable,” he said.
Source: Twitter (IPL)
“Eight years is a long, long time. Look at what happened to R Ashwin. Two years of captaincy [for the Kings XI Punjab], he couldn’t deliver and he was removed. We talk about MS Dhoni, we talk about Rohit Sharma, we talk about Virat Kohli…not at all. Dhoni has won three [IPL] titles, Rohit Sharma has won four titles, and that’s the reason they’ve captained for such a long time because they’ve delivered. I’m sure if Rohit Sharma wouldn’t have delivered for eight years, he would have been removed as well. There should not be different yardsticks for different people,” Gambhir highlighted.
While there were many who were pointing out the changes that need to be made within the squad, the T20 and World Cup winner with India was clear with what actually should be changed.
“The problem and the accountability starts from the top, not from the management nor the support staff, but from the leader. You’re the leader, you’re the captain. When you get the credit, you should take the criticism as well.”
RCB fans were yet again left disappointed as their team lost to SRH in the IPL 2020 Eliminator and a tournament that promised so much came to an end for them.