Virat Kohli will help the new captain to do the right thing: Irfan Pathan

Former Team India all-rounder Irfan Pathan reckons that even though Virat Kohli might not be leading the Indian team anymore, he would certainly help new skipper Rohit Sharma in doing the right thing on the field. Rohit had succeeded Kohli as India’s T20I skipper after the conclusion of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, the Delhi cricketer was then sacked as ODI captain by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in December prior to their departure to South Africa and the ‘Hitman’ succeeded him in the 50-overs format as well.

Sharma’s assignment as the Men In Blue’s full-time limited-overs skipper will get underway during the home series against the West Indies starting February 6. Both teams will play three One Day Internationals and as many T20Is. Meanwhile, all eyes would be on Virat the batter as he looks forward to scoring his 71st international century.

Kohli took the team’s fitness to another level: Irfan Pathan

“He is not the captain, but as long as he is in the team, he is a leader. He will help the new captain to do the right thing”, says Pathan while speaking to The Hindu.

“He sent out the right messages and he took the team’s fitness to another level. Going forward, I am sure he will help out others, especially Rohit Sharma. Every captain contributes in a unique fashion. Kohli had his energy, Rohit will give you calmness”, the 2007 T20 World Cup winner added.

Apart from leading the Mumbai Indians to a record five IPL triumphs, Rohit Sharma has also brought glory for India sporadically as a captain as far as the multi-nation tournaments are concerned. He had led the Indian team to the Nidhas Trophy tri-series triumph against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in March 2018 and then went on to lead the Men In Blue to their record seventh Asia Cup win later that year. Rohit was the team’s stand-in captain as regular skipper Virat Kohli was rested on both occasions.

The Mumbai cricketer had missed the South Africa tour citing an injury and his white-ball deputy KL Rahul was the stand-in captain for the ODI series which India lost 0-3.