Graeme Smith’s take on Virat Kohli captaincy is not without merit

Graeme Smith, South Africa’s most successful captain in Tests, has aired a caution over Indian captain Virat Kohli’s leadership skills, saying he might not be a long-term choice as captain for India and that he would need somebody to help him grow as a leader amid differing voices and opinions.

Smith expressed his concern ahead of the beginning of the third Test in Johannesburg. India lost both the Tests played so far, seeing Kohli lose his first series as the captain after over two years since taking over the reins in 2015. Given the South African bowlers’ form and the Indian batsmen’s pathetic display so far, it is highly likely that India could see another defeat and a 0-3 loss will undoubtedly raise questions over Kohli’s captaincy abroad – something Smith has already mentioned about.

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, though, is not ready to suspect Kohli’s captaincy skills yet and wants him to lead abroad at least for another year (India have tours of England and Australia lined up over the next 12 months) before arriving at a decision. But keeping the patriotic sentiments aside, there is no reason to ignore Smith’s viewpoint. Kohli would do great by taking into account what the former South Afican skipper prescribed.

One remembers another great player but not so much as a captain in this regard. His name is Sachin Tendulkar. One of the best produced by the game, Tendulkar had taken up the reins of captaincy twice but failed miserably on both occasions. Just as Smith has opined about captain Kohli, Tendulkar was also a skipper who had struggled to bring the best out of his players. Tendulkar was certainly not as expressive on the field as Kohli but there was little difference in the end result when it came to delivering abroad.

Kohli could have a Tendulkar’s luck in captaincy abroad

An instance comes to mind to show how Tendulkar had struggled as a captain. During the 1997 tour of the West Indies under his captaincy, India had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the third game of the one-day series at Kingstown. Chasing 250 in 50 overs, India collapsed from 185 for 2 to 231 all out, losing eight wickets in nine overs. It was said that Tendulkar was so upset with the team’s batting that he had locked himself up in the hotel room, refusing to meet anybody. Well, this showed the maestro was not as skilled in man management and allowed himself to be affected by hurt emotions. Kohli, who carries the team like Tendulkar in current times, could also be a similar candidate who expects everybody to deliver like him and is left devastated if it doesn’t happen that way.

Smith had taken charge of SA in trying times and turned the table

Smith’s words matter because the man had taken charge of South Africa at the age of 22 and when his team was going through a really bad patch. A miserable show in the World Cup played at home in 2003 and the resignation of Shaun Pollock from captaincy; exit of great players like Allan Donald and Jonty Rhodes after that WC and Lance Klusener a year later and poor performance in Tests meant Smith had a potentially explosive job in his hand. But he rose to the occasion with tremendous success – keeping the legacy of the Kepler Wessels, Hansie Cronjes and Shaun Pollocks intact and at the same time, giving a stability at the helm.

Smith captained South Africa for eight years between 2003 and 2011, captaining 108 Tests (he has won 53 of them, making him the most successful Test captain ever), 149 one-day internationals (winning 92 of them, just seven short of the most successful South African captain Cronje) and 27 T20 internationals (second-most after Faf du Plessis’s 32 and winning 18 of them). Smith did equally successfully as a batsman, finishing as South Africa’s second highest scorer in Tests with 27 tons, fifth best scorer in one-day internationals and sixth in T20 internationals, respectively.

Graeme Smith’s excellent captaincy record abroad

Talking about Smith’s record in tough away series, he is the only captain to have led SA in two Test series wins in Australia (2008-09 and 2012-13). He also beat England twice as the captain of South Africa (2008 and 2012) and drew once (2003) and defeated Pakistan and New Zealand in away series in 2007-08 and 2011-12, respectively. He is the only South African captain to have beaten India in two Test series at home (2006-07 and 2013-14) and drew them in two series in India (2007-08 and 2009-10). Against the West Indies, too, Smith is the only South African captain to have won two Test series (2005 and 2010).

Kohli will benefit if he holds Smith as a model captain when it comes to playing abroad for there is no Indian captain who have tasted success abroad in such magnitude. The 29-year-old Indian captain certainly requires time to prove himself as successful abroad as he is at home but it will also be wise if he keeps a note of Smith’s tips and work on them because it is too late in conditions abroad. There is no doubt about Kohli’s talent as a batsman abroad but as far is captaincy is concerned, he could be vulnerable when chips are down. Smith’s words are of gold. Let’s grab them.