It will be foolish to remove Virat Kohli as India captain, says Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar never minces words when it comes to putting across viewpoints. He said recently that Virat Kohli should continue to be India’s skipper in all formats since a lot of investment has already gone into him and it will be foolish to remove him. Akhtar said this in the wake of India’s ouster from the cricket World Cup in the semi-finals that raised a lot of questions over Kohli continuing as the skipper, especially in the limited-overs.

There have also been reports about the rift in the team in the wake of the debacle and speculation was rife whether India would have a split captaincy hereafter with Rohit Sharma taking over in the limited-over formats. The speculation though was buried as Kohli was picked as the captain for all the three formats for the Indian team for the tour of the West Indies starting Saturday.

“I think Kohli should not be removed from captaincy because a lot has been invested into him. He has been leading the sides for the past three-four years now,” Akhtar, who will turn 44 later this month, said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.

“All he needs is a better coach and a better selection committee and he will improve. He will be a sensible choice once he gets the required support staff from the BCCI. Rohit Sharma, no doubt, has led Mumbai Indians well in the IPL. But I think a lot has been invested in Kohli’s captaincy. It will be completely foolish to remove Kohli.”

Akhtar suggested new names for Pakistan captaincy

Akhtar recently also spoke in strong terms about the captaincy of the Pakistan team. He is not in favour of continuing with current skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed who he criticised brutally after the Men in Green’s poor start in the World Cup. He suggested the name of Haris Sohail as the captain of Pakistan’s limited-overs teams and Babar Azam for the Test team.

Coming back to Kohli, Akhtar also advised the BCCI to have a talk with the Indian captain and tell him where he made mistakes, especially regarding the batting at the World Cup. He felt the 30-year-old should be given more time to take his team forward.

Talking about the alleged rift in the Indian team, Akhtar refused to concede that there was any adding that even if that existed, it should have been ended before the World Cup. Akhtar is set to undergo a knee replacement surgery in Australia soon.