Updated: November 8, 2020 8:44:45 pm
Virat Kohli with AB de Villiers. (Source: IPL)
Former India star Virender Sehwag has endorsed Virat Kohli to remain captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore despite another IPL heartbreak, at odds with the views of his former opening partner Gautam Gambhir.
RCB lost the IPL Eliminator to Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets on Friday to withdraw from the 13th edition of the competition after a poor hitting performance.
While he disappointed endless RCB fans, two-time IPL winner Gambhir led the calls for Kohli’s removal from the captaincy. But, Sehwag did not agree with that point of view.
“A captain is only as good as his team. When Virat Kohli captains India, he is able to deliver the results. Do you win matches? ODI testing, T20I. But when he’s captain of RCB, his team can’t perform, ”Sehwag told ‘Cricbuzz’.
“It is very important for the captain to have a good team. So I think management shouldn’t think about changing their captain and rather think about how they can improve this team.
“Everyone should be added to the team to make sure their performance improves,” Sehwag added.
Kohli scored 466 runs in 15 games with a strike rate of 121.35 and has often struggled to get going in the middle.
The loss to SRH was RCB’s fifth on the trot after a strong start during which they had won seven of 10 matches.
Gambhir had said that Kohli’s failure to perform as RCB captain should lead to his removal from the hot seat.
Known for his outspokenness, the hero of India’s two World Cup titles made it clear that Kohli’s name as leader should not be taken in conjunction with those of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, who are the most successful IPL captains. .
When asked if Kohli should be removed from the RCB captaincy, Gambhir told ‘ESPNCricinfo’, “100 percent, because the problem is one of liability. Eight years after the tournament (no trophy), eight years is a long time.
“Tell me any other captain… forget about the captain, tell me any other player who had turned eight and had not won the title and continued with him.
“So it has to be responsibility.”
Gambhir led KKR to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014. PTI AH AH
.
