Mohammad Azharuddin wants Virat Kohli to replace MS Dhoni as India's Test captain
Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin wants MS Dhoni to be sacked as India’s Test captain following the team’s humiliating 3-1 loss in the Test series in England. Since July 2011, India have won only only 1 Test in 17 attempts away from home, which has seen Dhoni’s captaincy in the longest format of the game heavily criticised by a number of former cricketers and experts.
Dhoni can’t survive as Test captain
Azharuddin, speaking at the launch of the Champions League tennis tournament, said that a captain with such a poor record simply shouldn’t be allowed to continue in the post.
"You don't survive as a captain. If you perform then only you stay for a long time. If you don't perform, there is no survival and you perish -- it's as simple as that. The BCCI has to take some action. A different captain might help, you never know," the former Indian captain said, speaking about Dhoni.
A veteran of 99 Tests and 334 ODIs, Azharuddin has backed Virat Kohli for the hot seat, despite the Delhi batsman’s poor run of form in England,
Make Virat Kohli Test captain
"You don't get anything readymade. We can only find good captains only if the chance is given. If you don't give a chance, then how will you know. If I was the selector, I would give the chance to Virat Kohli. Fine, he has not done well in England, it was a one-off performance. If you don't put responsibility on the players, then how will you know they will perform,” the 51-year-old said.
With teams like South Africa, England and Australia using multiple captains for different formats, the Hyderabadi called upon the Indian selectors to go with the same formula instead of one player carrying all the burden.
"You have to be very good in all forms of the game. A good player will excel in all formats of the game. Like there are some players who are meant only for ODIs, we should have different captains. It is very hard for the captain to concentrate on three formats at one point. We can have different captains for different forms, like every other country has done," he said.