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'He got the baton from Dhoni': Ex-India cricketer explains how Kohli will find 'second gear' after exit as ODI captain
Kohli on Wednesday was replaced by Rohit Sharma as the ODI captain, completing the Indian board's leadership overhaul in white-ball cricket.
Amid the talks of Virat Kohli being sacked as the ODI skipper of the Indian team, former India international Atul Wassan feels the prolific batter himself had "consciously" realised that he can't lead the team in all three formats.
Kohli on Wednesday was replaced by Rohit Sharma as the ODI captain, completing the Indian board's leadership overhaul in white-ball cricket. Seasoned opener Rohit was also named India's T20 captain last month -- a stint that he started on a positive note by a series sweep against New Zealand at home.
Wassan welcomed the BCCI's decision to appoint Rohit as the ODI and T20I skipper and underlined the unprecedented Indian Premier League (IPL) success of the Mumbai Indians' skipper.
"I don’t think it is the removal of Virat. Virat himself has consciously realized that he cannot lead all three formats. He was struggling and every player goes through this bad patch. He has set such high standards for himself that even 40s-50s are not counted but he also expects a lot from him," Wassan told news agency ANI.
"I said many years ago that it is not right for any country, any team that all three formats are led by one guy. Rohit has shown that he is a good leader. He has got IPL crowns but Virat hasn’t. Maybe Virat will also find his second gear and second wind and it augurs well for Indian cricket," he added.
Kohli led India in 95 One-day Internationals and recorded 65 wins. He makes an exit from the leadership role with an exceptional win percentage of 70.43, which is the most by an Indian ODI skipper who has led the national side in more than 10 games.
Talking about the leadership sojourn, Wassan said that Kohli enjoyed the burden of captaincy and also mentioned the possibility that the Kohli-Shastri duo was "cornering" the authority.
"I think it comes into the holistic view of it. If you see that in some we lost big tournaments and in world cup also it is a big issue. Perhaps Virat and Shastri were cornering the authority also. So, BCCI probably wants to clip their wings also. That’s the reason this has happened," Wassan further said.
"Captaincy is a burden but Virat has enjoyed it. So, he has been captaining for so long so the records will speak. Indian cricket is on a high. He got the baton from Dhoni which has given him performance and he also made some good players," he added.
On Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara's future with the Indian team, Wassan said, "Rahane is struggling and for him to become vice-captain is untenable. The way Rohit has been performing. Pujara and Rahane are in their last legs."
