Shahid Afridi still not convinced with Virat Kohli’s captaincy

There is no question about Virat Kohli’s talents as a batsman and the world of cricket has acknowledged that he is one of the greatest the game has seen. But as far as the man’s captaincy is concerned, there are yet opinions that do not back the 30-year-old even though he is already on way to becoming the most successful for India in the statistician’s books.

The question over Kohli’s captaincy came under the scanner once again following India’s narrow defeat to Australia in the first T20I at the Gabba on Wednesday. India fell short of the target by just four runs (by DLS Method) and conceded a 0-1 lead to the opponents in the three-match series. The tactics employed by the Indian captain in the game were being questioned as well as the selection of the playing XI.

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is also among those who are not convinced with Kohli’s leadership and said on Thursday that even though the ace batsman remained one of his favourite cricketers, he felt the latter required improvements as far as his captaincy skills are concerned.

Kohli’s 3 moves at Gabba that were questioned

Three moves made by Kohli in the game disappointed a lot of experts. First was promoting KL Rahul to No.3 in the batting order while Kohli himself batted at No.4 while chasing 174 in 17 overs. Both Rahul and Kohli were dismissed by Australian spinner Adam Zampa in a short gap and it pegged India back in the steep run chase.

Besides, Jasprit Bumrah was not brought into the attack against hard-hitting Chris Lynn despite the fact that he has done well against the Aussie in the Indian Premier League. And finally, a newcomer in international cricket Krunal Pandya was played in the place of a more experienced Yuzvendra Chahal, a decision which was criticised by former cricketer like Sanjay Manjrekar.

“Virat Kohli is one of my favourite players but he needs to improve as a captain,” Afridi, who plays franchise cricket now, told Times Now. “India-Australia series is going to be a very exciting contest and this Indian team has what it takes to beat Australia in Australia but the team needs to play together,” he added.

India and Australia will play in a four-match Test series after the T20Is and a number of experts have backed India, saying this could be a golden opportunity to win their maiden Test series in Australia.

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