On Thursday the cricketer turned politician Gautam Gambhir took a dig on Virat Kohli’s captaincy. He clearly said that Virat Kohli is a successful cricket team captain because of players like Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni in the squad.
Gautam Gambhir, in a media interaction clearly stated that one’s captaincy can be judged through his ability to lead a side in Indian Premier League. Virat Kohli’s captaincy record with Royal Challengers Bangalore is well known. On the same line, Gambhir said, “Still a long way to go for him. Kohli was very good in the last World Cup but he has a long way to go. He captains so well in international cricket because he has got Rohit Sharma, he had MS Dhoni for a long time. Captaincy credentials are noticed when you are leading a franchise, when you do not have other players supporting you.”
Gambhir went on to give examples of Rohit Sharma and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and added, “If you compare that with RCB, the results are there for everyone to see.”
Regarding Rohit Sharma’s inclusion in the Test team as an opener Gambhir sounded positive and opined, “I think KL Rahul has been given a longer run. It is time for Rohit Sharma to open the batting in Test cricket. If you pick him in the squad, he has to be a part of the playing XI. If he does not fit your playing XI, no point in picking him in the squad of 15 or 16. He is too good a player to be sitting on the bench.”
In the candid chat, former cricketer recalled his cricket days, “In 2007, when I missed the 50-over World Cup, that was the lowest moment in my cricketing career. I had given up on cricket. Before that, I had missed both U-14 and U-19 World Cups. In 2007 I thought I was the closest to play the World Cup, but when they did not include me in the squad, I had given up on cricket.”
He further added, “Then I was chosen in Twenty-20 World Cup in 2007 and I got dismissed for a duck in the first match against Pakistan. But as fate has it, I finished as the leading run-scorer in the World Cup and we ended up winning the tournament so one should never give up.”