Gambhir calls for Kohli to not try to prove a point
Indian batsman and World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir has jumped upon the bandwagon of the war of words sparked by James Anderson yesterday, as the fast bowler claimed that Indian captain Virat Kohli would be lying if he said that his personal form won't impact him and the side.
Gambhir came to the fore to back Kohli, and in an interview with Cricbuzz, remarked how Kohli's legacy will be determined by his leadership of the side rather than his performances with the bat in Test series against England.
"He can't put additional pressure on himself thinking that the last tour of England wasn't great. Important thing is that he has already proved himself to the world and is probably one of the top three batters in the world," Gambhir said of Kohli, who has always made a point in his captaincy tenure to lead from the front.
To further emphasize the role of the captain in a side and how his performances are gauged, Gambhir stated the example of Australian legend Ricky Ponting. He said, "Someone like Ricky Ponting! He has only had one international hundred in India and people still call him a legend. You can't define someone if he has had just one bad tour.
He (Kohli) has already proved himself in different conditions, so he should not be thinking on the lines that he has to prove something on the English tour."
In the only Test series Kohli has played in England, he was found incredibly susceptible in the fourth stump line, a vulnerability expertly exposed by the likes of Anderson, Stuart Broad and typical corridor bowler Chris Woakes.
He ended the tour with more self-doubt than runs, but he has changed as a player since. The most remarkable difference has been his patience against the line he previously struggled with, along with the comparatively closed angle of the bat he plays his strokes with now.
His marvellous hundred at Centurion in India's 2018 tour of South Africa on a pitch where most other Indian batters struggled was a prime example of how he has evolved greatly as a batsman and after a few years of being labelled as an exclusively white ball batsman.