"Don't think captaincy was ever a burden on him" - Sunil Gavaskar on the prospect of Virat Kohli playing more freely in the Test series vs Sri Lanka
Legendary India opener Sunil Gavaskar has highlighted that Virat Kohli's batting was never affected by the additional burden of captaincy. He also expressed hope of the former skipper delivering the goods with the bat in the Test series against Sri Lanka.
Kohli will be playing his 100th Test when he turns up for Team India in the first match against Sri Lanka in Mohali. The second match of the series will be a day-night Test at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) home ground.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar was asked whether Virat Kohli could play more freely as a non-captain. He responded:
"Kohli, when he was captain, he showed that there were no effects of the burden of captaincy. He was reeling off hundreds just every other innings. So don't think captaincy was ever a burden on him."
However, the former India skipper did acknowledge that a skipper needs to worry about a lot of other aspects other than his batting. Gavaskar elaborated:
"As a captain what happens is that you are concerned about everybody else. It's just a natural thing, you are concerned about your bowlers' forms, maybe there is a slight niggle injury, as a batting unit maybe your No.4 or No.5 are not getting the runs, getting out badly."
Gavaskar added that Virat Kohli can concentrate solely on his batting since he is no longer the captain. He observed:
"So you might be scoring runs yourselves as a captain but you are always concerned about everybody else in the team. That is where you can't focus on your batting. As not a captain, you can focus entirely on your batting. That is the biggest advantage that you can have."
Virat Kohli in the practice session today with Jasprit Bumrah ahead of his 100th Test. https://t.co/PyzDrZcdAY
Kohli has amassed 5864 runs at an excellent average of 54.80 as Team India's Test skipper. He has a slightly lower average of 41.13 when he has not been at the helm.
"It's a question of Virat Kohli getting used to the fact that he is not calling the shots" - Sunil Gavaskar
While observing that Kohli will have to get used to playing just as a batter, Gavaskar added that everything else is immaterial as long as he delivers with the willow. He said:
"But now I think it's a question of him getting used to the fact that he is not calling the shots. As long as he is delivering the shots with the bat, nothing else is mattering."
Virat Kohli has an unfinished business in Test cricket : A triple hundred...
Ajit Agarkar was quick to add that Virat Kohli probably took a little time to get used to not marshaling the troops in the ODI series against West Indies but had started to enjoy the new role by the second T20I.