Former India great takes a dig at skipper Virat Kohli

Erapalli Prasanna, the former Indian off-spinner, lashed out at captain Virat Kohli earlier today. He made it clear that if the skipper feels he is the “boss” of Indian cricket, then, perhaps, the Indian team was better off without a coach. On being inquired about the rift between Kohli and Anil Kumble, Prasanna cynically took a dig at the skipper.

There have been speculations of a rift between Kohli and Kumble ever since the conclusion of the India-Australia series. Finally, in the aftermath of India’s Champion Trophy final defeat against arch-nemesis Pakistan, Kumble stepped down as the coach of the Indian team citing “differences in style” with the captain as the reason for his decision.

Prasanna sounded cynical in his response when asked about the rift between Kohli and Anil Kumble, who quit as Indian cricket team coach recently. He told the Times of India, “Why do they require a coach, if the captain is the boss? I don’t think they even need the services of batting or fielding coaches (Sanjay Bangar and R Sridhar).”

“Kohli is undoubtedly a very good player but I do not know whether he is a good captain or not,” he further said.

“If a legendary cricketer like Anil Kumble is not respected, I do not think neither of them – Bangar and Sridhar – will have the guts to speak to Kohli in a confident way. None of them is as experienced like Kumble,” the former great spinner continued, “Just hire somebody for the physical training and that will be enough. If such is the attitude of a captain I don’t think you require a coach.”

It is time to look beyond Dhoni, Yuvraj

Prasanna opined that the time is right for India to look beyond Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and build for the future.

“I don’t think they will be able to continue till the next World Cup in 2019, they will be 38 then. We need fresh and young legs and players who are extremely agile,” he said.

“Okay, Dhoni will be the wicketkeeper but Yuvraj is going to be a liability as a fielder. In fact, the selectors should have tried out more youngsters for this West Indies tour, as they are one of the weakest teams at the moment,” the Indian great concluded.