We may see the Virat Kohli from two years ago, slamming centuries after centuries: Sunil Gavaskar

Legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar reckoned that not staying as Team India’s ODI and T20I captain anymore may help Virat Kohli play with a freer mind. In the last two years, the 33-year-old Kohli hasn’t scored a century despite being third in the list of all-time highest century-makers in international cricket after Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting.

Gavaskar said that there’s a high chance that the Delhi-born Kohli will find his mojo with the bat in hand after being relieved off captaincy in the limited-overs formats. Even as he stepped down from T20I leadership, Kohli was removed as India’s ODI captain before the tour of South Africa.

Sunil Gavaskar backs Virat Kohli

“We may see the Virat from two years ago, slamming centuries after centuries,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying in Sports Tak. In the last 24 months, Kohli has scored plenty of half-centuries, but a three-figure score has continued to elude him.

Gavaskar also believed that Rohit Sharma has the potential to be an efficient leader, especially after his performances for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. The veteran said that the 34-year-old Rohit’s game improved after he took charge of the MI team back in 2013.

“We have also seen that when Rohit Sharma was made captain of Mumbai Indians, he took those scored of 20, 30 and 40 runs and converted them into big scores. When you are captain, you play with a lot more responsibilities. Your shot selection gets better,” he stated.

Gavaskar also said that Team India may see a better version of Rohit Sharma after the latter was appointed as the ODI and T20I skipper.

“You know you have to set an example and MI reaped the benefits by winning the title five times. It is possible to see Rohit score even more runs once he is the white-ball captain,” Gavaskar added.

As far as Kohli is concerned, he’s set to lead India in the three-match Test series in South Africa, starting December 26 at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Rohit, in the meantime, has been ruled out of the red-ball games due to a hamstring injury.