Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt believes that Virat Kohli’s resignation as the Test captain of the Indian team will come as a huge loss.
Kohli’s decision to announce that he will be stepping down as the Test captain came as quite a shock to the cricketing fanatics. His passion and aggression are something that was missing in Indian cricket and now that he is not the captain anymore, there will be tough times ahead as per Butt.
“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,” Butt said on his YouTube channel.
“I get a vibe that he’s had enough” – Salman Butt
Kohli’s reasoning behind his decision is still quite unclear at the moment. Whether it is to focus on his batting or the pressure from the BCCI, India will find it tough to find a suitable replacement for the 33-year-old Kohli.
“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,” Butt mentioned.
Kohli finished his captaincy stint in Tests with 40 wins in 68 matches, 13 more than any other Indian captain.
Also Read – Mark Butcher Slams ECB For Making Chris Silverwood Selector-Cum-Coach Of England Team