Asif Iqbal feels Virat Kohli's captaincy is similar to former Pakistan legend

Virat Kohli and his aggressive captaincy traits are always in the news. He thrives in demanding circumstances and loves to stand tall while facing extreme challenges. The ongoing England tour was also a stern test of his temperament having failed miserably in 2014. But the captain is leading from the front which has impressed former Pakistan cricketer Asif Iqbal. However, he has also showered praises on Kohli and has compared his captaincy skills to Imran Khan.

The 29-year-old has so far amassed 440 runs in the 3 Tests against England and no other batsman has even managed to score more than 220 runs in the series which has dominated by the bowlers. It all began in the first Test when Kohli smashed 149 in the first innings and then backed it up with a resilient 51 in the chase. But he failed to lead his team to a victory and a couple of low scores followed which again raised the questions on him.

But the champion cricketer stamped his authority again with a clinical show. His 97-run knock laid the perfect foundation on the first day and then batted the opposition out of the game with a superb 103 in the second innings. This time India won by a massive 203 runs to stage a sensational comeback in the series.

You need people like Virat to draw people to grounds

Asif Iqbal has also been the captain of Pakistan during his playing days. He led his country in 1975 and 1979 World Cups. He went on to say that Virat Kohli’s captaincy reminds him of Imran Khan who won the mega event for Pakistan in 1992 and created history. Asif was also of the opinion that cricket needs players like Kohli to draw the fans to the Stadium.

“I think you need players like Virat to draw people to the cricket grounds. The most important thing is that he is producing results as a captain. Imran Khan led from the front. He performed consistently and demanded same commitment from his team-mates. I can see a similarity between Virat and Imran. Virat too performs and commands respects from his team-mates. He has all the qualities to become a successful captain,” he said while speaking to Xtra Time.

He also felt that the Indian skipper deserves to be at the number one position in the ICC rankings and called his performance in the ongoing Test series as ‘phenomenal’.

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