IND vs SL: Don't Think Captaincy Was Ever A Burden On Him - Sunil Gavaskar On Virat Kohli Ahead Of Milestone Test

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar doesn’t believe that captaincy had a negative effect on the 33-year-old Indian batter, Virat Kohli, stating that he used to score centuries for fun even with additional responsibility.

Ahead of Kohli’s 100th Test, Gavaskar said that Kohli had to worry about his players back when he was the captain but it isn’t the same case anymore. He can focus on improving himself while Rohit Sharma handles the leadership responsibilities.

“Kohli, when he was captain, he showed that there were no effects of the burden of captaincy. He was reeling off hundreds just every other innings. So don’t think captaincy was ever a burden on him.”

“As a captain what happens is that you are concerned about everybody else. It’s just a natural thing, you are concerned about your bowlers’ forms, maybe there is a slight niggle injury, as a batting unit may be your No.4 or No.5 are not getting the runs, getting out badly,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.

“As not a captain, you can focus entirely on your batting” – Sunil Gavaskar

Kohli’s captaincy stint came to an end after he gave up the Test captaincy following the series loss in South Africa. Now that he is void of any responsibility other than contributing by scoring runs, Kohli can play freely.

“So you might be scoring runs yourselves as a captain but you are always concerned about everybody else in the team. That is where you can’t focus on your batting. As not a captain, you can focus entirely on your batting. That is the biggest advantage that you can have.”

“But now I think it’s a question of him getting used to the fact that he is not calling the shots. As long as he is delivering the shots with the bat, nothing else is mattering,” Gavaskar further added.

Kohli’s 100th Test will start on March 4 in Mohali against Sri Lanka.

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