IND vs SA Live: India missed Virat Kohli the captain – Selectors might have snatched Virat Kohli’s ODI captaincy but former cricketers still feel his absence is a great miss in Tests. After Wasim Jaffer said India missed Virat Kohli the captain, Gautam Gambhir agreed. Kohli missed the 2nd Test with back injury and India lost the match by 7 wickets. Follow India vs South Africa Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir said that India missed Virat Kohli, the batsman, and the skipper, in the Johannesburg Test. Kohli was ruled out of the second Test at the last moment due to an upper back spasm and opener KL Rahul took the responsibility of captaincy. India lost the Test and an opportunity to win the series in South Africa.
IND vs SA Live: Gautam Gambhir agrees with Wasim Jaffer, says ‘India missed Virat Kohli the skipper in Johannesburg Test’
“India definitely missed Virat Kohli the batsman and the captain. He is so experienced and things turn simpler for experienced captains because they have been around for a long time. Steve Smith, Joe Root, Kane Williamson, Rohit Sharma, these are the type of batters you miss. And it is difficult to find their replacement no matter what form they are in,” said Gambhir on Star Sports.
IND vs SA Live: Gautam Gambhir agrees with Wasim Jaffer, says ‘India missed Virat Kohli the skipper in Johannesburg Test’
Wasim Jaffer told InsideSport that Virat Kohli’s attacking and aggressive captaincy was a miss in the 2nd Tes as under KL Rahul India lost its fortress Johannesburg.
“India definitely missed Virat Kohli the captain because he brings so much aggression to the field. When you have such a player on the field, you know you will be held accountable if you make a mistake. So, they missed that energy,” Wasim Jaffer told on InsideCricket show.
As for KL Rahul, Gautam Gambhir has an advice for him, “Be more aggressive and learn quickly”.
“The more time he spends, the better he will learn, but the faster he learns the better it is. This is not like ODI or T20I captaincy, which is far easier because you don’t have to focus much on-field placements. In Test cricket you need to buy the wickets, sometimes even gamble with your choices,” Gautam Gambhir.
IND vs SA Live: Gautam Gambhir agrees with Wasim Jaffer, says ‘India missed Virat Kohli the skipper in Johannesburg Test’