Published 17:25 IST, May 17th 2020
Kaif criticizes Virat Kohli's captaincy, says Indian skipper needs to back players more
Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has criticised skipper Virat Kohli for doing a lot of experiments with the team and not backing players enough
Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has criticised skipper Virat Kohli for doing a lot of experiments with the team and not backing players enough. Kaif believes that Kohli should focus and back his team selection instead of trying several combinations as he did during the 2019 ICC World Cup. Known for his match-winning knock against England in 2002, Kaif also added that the Indian skipper should make players and only then will he be able to create a good team.
'He should not be the water boy'
Speaking during a live session on Helo App, Kaif also highlighted the constant change in wicketkeepers with MS Dhoni being out of the team and called for a permanent solution. He stated that KL Rahul is a good wicket-keeper but not a 'permanent one' and expressed his disappointment over Rishabh Pant's exclusion from the Indian side. Kaif said, "If you want to support Rishabh Pant over Dhoni, then Kohli should back him. He should not be the water boy of the team."
Kaif also went on to remark that Virat Kohli can have a better captaincy record than MS Dhoni when he retires if he backs his players, adding that he has a good number of match-winners in his squad. “Kohli and his team should overcome this hurdle. Kohli has match-winners, good players, you have to back them up, you have to build a team, if they stay as one team, it’ll be tremendous, by this way Virat Kohli can become the best captain and surpass Dhoni when he retires,” Kaif said during the live session.
Kaif picks Rohit Sharma over Kohli
Recently, during a recent interaction, Kaif went on to say that he loves to watch Rohit Sharna bat. He also mentioned that both the limited-overs vice-captain as well as Virat Kohli have long careers ahead of them and both are exceptional batsmen. The former middle-order batsman added that even though the Indian captain is on another level as his records in Test matches is amazing and at the same time, he is also brilliant in the 50-overs format and the shortest format of the game, the ex-batsman would prefer watching Rohit Sharma bat.
Updated 17:25 IST, May 17th 2020