The former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi is of the opinion that Virat Kohli shouldn’t just leave India’s captaincy in T20 international cricket, he should give up the leadership position in all formats of the game.
Afridi reckons giving up the leadership position will help Virat be more focused with the bat and he can get back to his lethal best, while Rohit Sharma can take over as India’s captain as he has got a good blend of composure and aggression.
Rohit Sharma has already been named India’s new T20 international captain, and there have been reports his name might be considered for ODI captaincy too when the selection committee meets to pick the team for the South Africa tour in the next couple of weeks.
But, it doesn’t seem likely that BCCI would be willing to change the test captaincy anytime soon as nobody seems to be a strong contender to take over in the longest format of the game. Ajinkya Rahane, who is the current test vice-captain and will be leading the team in the first test against New Zealand, has been struggling with his own form and struggling to justify his place in the playing XI.
Shahid Afridi feels there is plenty of cricket left for Virat Kohli
According to Shahid Afridi, Virat has got a lot of cricket left in him with the bat, but he needs to bat with freedom now, with a clear mind without any stress of leading the side, and that can happen if he steps down as captain and continues as a batsman.
“Virat should step down as captain and just enjoy his remaining cricket, which I think aplenty. He can play freely without any other pressures on his mind,” Shahid Afridi was quoted as saying by PTI.
Virat Kohli has not crossed the three-figure mark in any format of the game for India in the last two years. The last time the Indian captain scored a hundred, was back in 2019 before the COVID break.
