Virat Kohli is not a bad captain, but Rohit Sharma is a better captain: Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir opined that there is a massive difference in the quality of captaincy when you compare Virat Kohli with Rohit Sharma. Gambhir argued that Rohit Sharma has proven his leadership skills in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and must be given a go at the international level.
The former Indian batsman clarified that Kohli is not a bad captain, but lauded the Mumbai Indians skipper as being much better at the job. Gautam Gambhir was speaking on the Cricket Connect show when he called for a change in captaincy for the Indian T20I side.
“Virat Kohli is not a bad captain, but Rohit Sharma is a better captain. There is a vast difference between the quality of captaincy.”
Rohit Sharma has led the Mumbai Indians to five titles in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is the most for any team competing in the league. However. Virat Kohli is yet to win a title with his IPL side Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Also read: Who will India miss more- Rohit Sharma in limited-overs or Virat Kohli in Tests?
Captaincy in the IPL could be the parameter for selecting the Indian captain: Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir added that if IPL performances become a parameter for the selection of players in the national T20 side, it could also be a parameter for selecting the captain of the Indian T20 side.
“When we pick players for the national side based on the performances in the IPL, then why can’t we select the Indian T20I captain based on the captaincy in the IPL? In that case, the IPL should not be a parameter (for selection), isn’t it?”
Gautam Gambhir further pointed out that Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar and the latest entrant into the national side, T Natarajan, were all selected based on their performances in the IPL.
T Natarajan was added to the Indian T20I squad which will face Australia after he picked up 16 wickets at an economy rate of just over 8 runs an over in this year's IPL.
Also read: Virat Kohli's captaincy record and stats against Australia