Former Indian captain Kapil Dev feels that Virat Kohli should be given more opportunities before judging his capabilities as a captain. The 27-year old has been leading Team India quite effectively in test cricket as India have already clinched the first test and are on the verge of winning the second test against West Indies in the Caribbean tour.
Kapil Dev also felt that both KL Rahul and Virat Kohli should perform consistently in Test Cricket to become elite batsmen.
“Virat Kohli has to be given more chances to captain the team then only we will know about his capabilities. We can’t judge his capabilities in just one series,” Kapil was quoted by the Times of India.
“We can never judge a player by just one Indian Premier League (IPL) or just one Test series… let them play 5-10 series, then only we can judge a player and think about it,” he added.
The legendary all-rounder also said that the current generation of youngsters have filled the void left by the retirement of Fab 4 Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman and hails Ravichandran Ashwin as the perfect replacement to fill the shoes of Anil Kumble as the leading spinner.
“The youngsters have bridged the gap with the previous generation. Players like Kohli and Ashwin have taken the extra responsibilities on their shoulders,” Kapil Dev said.
Team India have been playing an aggressive brand of cricket under Virat Kohli who has taken full-time reign as Test captain when Dhoni retired in the middle of Australian tour during December 2014.
The 27-year old has taken the aggression to the opposition as he has managed to defeat South Africa 3-0 at home and win a test series in Sri Lanka after 22 years as he has taken Team India to second place in ICC Test rankings standing only behind Australia. The leadership of Virat Kohli would be key to India as the team would be facing the likes of England, New Zealand, Bangladesh and others in the long-running current season.