Erapalli Prasanna questions Virat Kohli's leadership qualities

Prasanna says Virat Kohli’s leadership skills are still under doubt

What’s the story?

Erapalli Prasanna has joined the list of former Indian cricketers that have severely criticised Indian captain Virat Kohli after Anil Kumble’s resignation as the head coach of the team. The legendary off-spinner also went on to doubt Kohli’s capability as a captain. He said: 

“Why do they require a coach, if the captain is the boss? I don’t think they even need the services of batting or fielding coaches (Sanjay Bangar and R Sridhar). Kohli is undoubtedly a very good player but I do not know whether he is a good captain or not. 

“If a legendary cricketer like Anil Kumble is not respected, I do not think neither of them – Bangar and Sridhar – will have the guts to speak to Kohli in a confident way. None of them are as experienced like Kumble.”

Furthering his argument, he also said that the team can simply hire a fitness trainer instead of full-fledged mentors if the captain has such strong monopoly.  

“Just hire somebody for the physical training and that will be enough. If such is the attitude of a captain I don’t think you require a coach,” added Prasanna, sounding visibly enraged. 

In case you didn’t know...

Two weeks before the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, reports about an alleged feud between Kohli and Kumble started cropping up. Moreover, the fact that BCCI was accepting head coach applications instead of going for a straightforward extension of Kumble’s contract added further fuel to the fire. 

Kumble stepped down right after the conclusion of the tournament, stating that the captain had ‘reservations’ about his style of coaching. 

The details 

Talking about the preparation to the ICC World Cup 2019, Prasanna said that Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni’s spots in the playing XI should be reconsidered. He emphasised on grooming young and agile players for the tournament. 

While he said that Dhoni might play the tournament pertaining to his wicketkeeping skills, he was absolutely certain about Singh being a fielding liability for the team. 

What next?

The more the team is trying to leave this Kohli-Kumble fiasco behind them, the more people are talking about it. Every person, expert or not, has an opinion about the split and wants to put forward that opinion. 

The Indian team will start its ODI series in West Indies today (June 23), and they should stay away from such negativity at all costs now.

Author’s take

While all ex and current cricketers are entitled to have their opinion on Kumble’s resignation and the causes leading up to it, the controversy surrounding it is going out of hand now. It is time to leave behind the entire Kumble issue and to refocus on Indian cricket and the Carribean test that is to follow.