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Cricket Players'Not winning an ICC tournament doesn't tell us...': Ex-Pakistan skipper passes verdict on Virat Kohli's captaincy tenure
Reflecting on Virat Kohli's exceptional captaincy tenure, the former Pakistan skipper has hit back at the batting icon's critics for labelling him as a "failed" captain.
Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli recently revealed that he was called a 'failed' captain by cricket pundits and fans of the game after the batting icon failed to win an ICC trophy as the leader of the Asian giants. One of the most decorated players in the history of the game, run machine Kohli succeeded MS Dhoni as the leader of the Indian Test side in 2014. The batting icon then replaced Dhoni as India’s limited-overs captain in 2017.
Though India failed to win an ICC trophy under Kohli's leadership, the Men In Blue finished runners-up at the 2017 Champions Trophy. Kohli and Co. also made it to the semi-finals of the 50-over World Cup in 2019. Kohli also guided Team India to the summit clash of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship. Reflecting on Kohli's exceptional captaincy tenure, former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt has hit back at the batting icon's critics for labelling him as a "failed" captain.
"People who do not understand the game of cricket very well judge a captain's performance based on how he has fared in the Champions Trophy or the World Cup. However, if you have a good win percentage and are tactically very strong, but haven't won a big tournament, it wouldn't be fair to say that you haven't been a good captain," Butt said on his YouTube channel.
"There might have been a few mistakes in high-pressure games, or it might just have been a case of luck. Not winning an ICC tournament doesn't tell us that he [Virat Kohli] wasn't a strong leader," added Butt, who played 33 Tests, 24 T20Is and 78 ODIs for Pakistan.
In Kohli's first and only campaign as T20I captain, India bowed out of the World Cup in the group stage. Kohli won 65 matches out of 95 as the captain of the Indian side in the 50-over format. Kohli stepped down as India's Test captain after the series loss to South Africa. The former Indian skipper captained the Asian giants in 25 series. Kohli is India's most successful captain in the longest format of the game. Veteran Indian opener Rohit Sharma replaced the 34-year-old as India's full-time captain across all formats in 2022.
"There is still some scope for improvement in Babar Azam's captaincy. When you look at how Virat Kohli led his side in Tests, it was fantastic. He won a lot of matches and even overseas series. However, he couldn't win a final. When such a thing happens, it seems at times that the team hasn't been able to win a final because of him," Butt added.
