Virat Kohli needs to deal with the other senior men in a different way, says Steve Waugh

Following India’s brilliant run of play in the recently concluded South Africa tour, the team has earned a lot of praises under the captaincy of their charismatic captain Virat Kohli. The inspirational figure in the Indian team has lead from the front and his aggressive approach during demanding situations has helped his cause even when cricket pundits reckon that the Indian skipper needs to bring in more composure in his character.

Former Australian skipper, Steve Waugh in his latest public appearance at the Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony in Monaco, spoke about the Indian cricket team skipper as well as the current state of his team. Steve, who himself led from the front in his cricketing days was a bit critical about Kohli’s way of dealing with the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara.

Kohli possesses charisma and the X-factor

Talking about the team India’s recent success, Waugh credits the skipper who himself aspires to be the best in the business. His stature as a player has grown many folds and the team isn’t reluctant in following the footsteps of their captain. “Virat is leading very well right now, he has that charisma and that X-factor. That’s why the rest of the team follows him. He wants the team to play positively all the time. They have got a very good win record in the last couple of years in all forms of the game. Virat has high aspirations for his team. He wants to be No 1 across all formats which is difficult to do these days,” Waugh was quoted as saying by Firstpost.

Steve, himself has been a great admirer of Kohli, the batsmen as the records speak for him, but the Australian legend wanted the Indian skipper to show some calmness in situations that require composure. In his view, he needs to be more aware in handling some of the other senior men who may not fancy his brand of aggression.”As a captain, he is still developing and needs some time to rope in his excitement and emotions. But that’s the way he plays. I think he just needs to get a bit of awareness that everyone in the side cannot play in that fashion. Someone like (Ajinkya) Rahane and (Cheteshwar) Pujara are very calm and quiet guys, so he needs to just understand that some players are different as well, “he mentioned.

Kohli has been inspirational

Waugh relied upon the fact that Kohli does possess that competitive edge over others but he needs to be extra careful in the way he carries himself on the field as he an inspiration to many younger players who look up to him. He was of the view that, “India are a very good side, no doubt about that. Kohli is an inspiration, he wants to win away from home but that didn’t quite work out in the first two Tests. They came across a pretty good South African side on difficult conditions for batting. But they came back in the third Test which was a good sign for India. They are a very competitive side, they cover all positions well. So I think India, South Africa and Australia are right now three sides who are very similar in quality and they will fight it out for the No 1 position in the next couple of years.”

“At times, he probably needs to tone it down and at times he needs to lift it. So he needs to work out what’s right. He needs to strike a balance. I have seen him in South Africa and I feel that he was little over the top. That’s a learning thing for a captain,” Waugh added.