Virat Kohli has witnessed a dip in his batting form as pointed out by many. The former Indian captain has not been able to reach the triple-digit figures in any formats in over two years. The year 2021 marked an end of Kohli's captaincy from the T20 format and shortly after that he was sacked as the ODI skipper.
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Now following the 2-1 Test series defeat against South Africa, Kohli dropped another bombshell, when he announced he'll be stepping down from the leadership role in the longer format too. While we are still not sure what could have led to the decision, many have argued it to be a good decision, justifying it will allow the 33-year-old to completely focus on his batting.
However, India legend Dilip Vengsarkar doesn't feel the same and backed the former India skipper's performance, irrespective of the lack of centuries.
Sharing his thoughts on the topic, the former cricketer in an interview to Gulf News said: “I don’t agree with this for I feel that Kohli has had a dream run for nearly five years as a batsman and captain. For all the talk about his current lean phase, I feel that Indians are often obsessed with statistics and that’s something that I don’t believe in.”
{{/usCountry}}Sharing his thoughts on the topic, the former cricketer in an interview to Gulf News said: “I don’t agree with this for I feel that Kohli has had a dream run for nearly five years as a batsman and captain. For all the talk about his current lean phase, I feel that Indians are often obsessed with statistics and that’s something that I don’t believe in.”
{{/usCountry}}“Yes, it’s true that he hasn’t got a century over the last few years but the way he applied himself, adapted to the movement and bounce of the ball on the South African wickets was exemplary. At Newlands, the way he held himself back and built the innings after the fall of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane to score 79 off 201 - every run continued on those wickets. His commitment and intent was fantastic,” added Vengsarkar.
The 65-year-old recalled his days as chairman of the selection committee when the topic shifted to who should succeed Kohli in Tests.
“Interestingly, my committee was faced with a similar situation when Rahul Dravid stepped down from captaincy and we had a demanding Australia tour round the corner. Some felt that MS Dhoni, who was leading in the shorter format, be promoted but we went ahead with Anil Kumble who did a fantastic job.”
“If you ask me, it may be a practical idea to have a stop-gap arrangement with Rohit Sharma or even Ravi Ashwin for a year or so and groom someone in the meanwhile,” said Vengsarkar.