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'How can things go back to normal again?': Ex-Pakistan captain on why Kohli quitting captaincy is a huge loss to India

Following Virat Kohli's surprising decision to quit Test captaincy, former Pakistan captain explained why Team India will never the same again.

Published on: Jan 17, 2022, 10:23:08 IST
By , NEW DELHI
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Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt feels Indian cricket will no longer be the same after Virat Kohli suddenly quit as Test captain on Saturday.

'How can things go back to normal again?': Ex-Pakistan captain Salman Butt on why Virat Kohli quitting captaincy is a huge loss to India (REUTERS)
'How can things go back to normal again?': Ex-Pakistan captain Salman Butt on why Virat Kohli quitting captaincy is a huge loss to India (REUTERS)

The decision came a couple of days after India lost a three-match Test series 2-1 in South Africa. Despite winning a historic first Test in Centurion, the lesser-experienced Proteas side fought back to win the next two games and eventually bag the series.

ALSO READ | 'Virat will have to give up his ego, play under young cricketer': Kapil Dev weighs in on Kohli's post-captaincy era

Butt, while speaking on a video on his YouTube channel, Butt said that Kohli brought to the table an important ingredient Indian cricket missed in order to achieve the desired success. Speaking further, he commented that Indian cricket will no longer be the same.

"When he's no longer the captain, how can things go back to being normal? He will now feature as a player and try and give his best. When he was leading, he would work with complete direction and vision, like MS Dhoni. People often criticized him for being over-aggressive but that was the thing missing in Indian cricket and that's what he got. There were more gains than losses. Him not being captain will be a huge loss," explained Butt.

Meanwhile, and earlier in the video, left-hander Butt also attempted at guessing the real reason behind Kohli's bombshell announcement.

"After reading his note on Twitter, I got a vibe that he's had enough. And this is not the age where a player goes, "okay, I am done. Someone else please take over". He still has 5 years on him and it's not like he's quitting cricket altogether.

"I am getting a feeling that not everything is smooth within the set-up. One of the other reasons could be the absence of like-mindedness. There was organizational set-up, wherein Ravi Shastri was present and his crew worked with Kohli like a machine. (Now that they have left), I feel there is an issue with compatibility also and when that happens, everything else starts mattering," elaborated Butt.

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