"If he cannot do it, then what can we do?" - Salman Butt feels Virat Kohli's sacking has dented Team India's confidence

Virat Kohli during the ODI series in South Africa. Pic: Getty Images

Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt reckons Virat Kohli’s sacking as India's ODI captain by the BCCI has adversely affected the confidence of the other players in the team. Butt claimed an atmosphere of uncertainty seems to be prevailing in Indian cricket at the moment.

The former cricketer was reacting to the visitors' defeat in the 2nd ODI of the series against South Africa. They went down tamely by seven wickets to concede the three-match series 2-0.

Claiming the Men in Blue are feeling the negative effects of Kohli's unceremonious sacking as one-day captain, Butt said on his YouTube channel:

“India earlier had a very good captain, who is an outstanding and world-class performer. But now, the other players in the team are thinking - if he cannot do it, then what can we do? If a player like Kohli has been sacked as captain, they one can only imagine what can happen to the others. This is not a good message being sent across. The structure of the team has been dented.”

Kohli was sacked as Team India skipper ahead of the South Africa tour. Rohit Sharma was named as his replacement but was subsequently ruled out due to a hamstring injury.

South Africa beat India by 7️⃣ wickets in the second ODI and take an unassailable 2️⃣-0️⃣ lead in the three-match ODI series 👏

#India #SouthAfrica #SAvIND https://t.co/mOpPFF01EW

“KL Rahul is looking meek” - Salman Butt on Team India’s stand-in skipper

Although KL Rahul has only led the team in two ODIs so far, question marks are already being raised over his leadership abilities. Asked about his impression of the 29-year-old, Butt conceded:

“KL Rahul is looking meek. India’s display was also meek under him. He’s probably not ready for the position that has come to him. Mentally, he doesn’t seem to be ready. He was getting better as a cricketer. It’s hard on the guy as well.”

The former Pakistan skipper also pointed out that captaining a team with Kohli in it is never going to be easy. He concluded:

“Rahul’s a wonderful player. But if you give him such a huge responsibility before he is prepared and that too with a legend already present in the team, it is not easy to absorb.”

Have the Indian bowlers let the team down? 🤔

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Rahul led India in the Johannesburg Test as well, when Kohli was ruled out due to upper back spasms. The visitors lost that match by seven wickets.