Virat Kohli declared his desire to step down as captain of the Indian team in the T20I format earlier this year, and speculations are circulating that Kohli may be stripped of the ODI captaincy shortly as well.
According to senior Indian selector MSK Prasad, Kohli has not managed the Indian team badly. Under Kohli, the Indian team advanced to the finals of the 2017 Champions Trophy and also the semifinals of the 2019 fifty-over World Cup.
KL Rahul is the guy to look out for future Team India’s captain: MSK Prasad
“In the 2017 Champions Trophy, we were finalists, the 2019 World Cup, we were at the top of the table, and unfortunately, all of us know that the weather has also played a big role in that game“.
“If you see the way he has led ODIs, I don’t think Virat has led that badly. You have given him two ICC trophies; one, he has taken the team to the final, the other we lost in the semi-finals under peculiar circumstances,” said MSK Prasad.
MSK Prasad also stated that, while Rohit Sharma captain the Indian team in T20Is, Kohli should continue to captain the ‘Men in Blue’ in Tests and ODIs. According to MSK, KL Rahul will be the next possible Indian limited-overs skipper.
“I don’t think we should be having three captains. We should stick to two captains only, so right now, Virat for Tests and ODIs and Rohit for T20s. Or if the selectors feel one captain for white-ball cricket. Maybe in the future, if KL Rahul establishes himself as a Test cricketer, he is the guy to look out for,” added Prasad.
Prasad also believes that Virat Kohli is an excellent Test captain, and he believes that the 33-year-old, should captain the Indian Test team for the next five years.
“I am seeing another five-year cycle in him as a captain for Test cricket because he is a fantastic captain and the energy that he brings in Test cricket is absolutely different,” concluded Prasad.
