Cricket is one of the most popular games around the world. In India, it is not just a game, it is almost like a religion. People shower their love and support for this game. They worship the players like they are gods. Legends like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, M.S. Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, etc are only few names that have received god-like fame. But wherever there is love, there has always been hate. As hypocritical as it may sound but there have been times when fans have protested against their players. Support and criticism have always been part and parcel of the Indian cricket team.
Virat Kohli is one such player, who has his fair share of haters as well as lovers. He is currently one of the best batsmen in the world. He has broken several records with his world-class batting skills. His career is legendary and many deem that he is the only person to break the great record of centuries by Sachin Tendulkar. He is also the captain of the team across all formats of the game.
Since the early days of his captaincy in 2017, Virat has always been a target of criticism. Many feel that nobody can replace M.S.Dhoni in that position. Moreover, the lack of major international trophies under his spell has also been a reason to criticise his captaincy.
Recently, after the 5th test between India & England had been cancelled, reports came flying in about a change in captaincy. According to many inside sources, Virat will step down from the leadership role in thte T20 and ODI formats. Rohit Sharma will be taking over the baton while Virat will continue only in the test formats to focus more on his batting. People are reacting differently to this epic news. But, top BCCI officials have ridiculed the news saying that split captaincy has no chance in the present day. Virat will continue to lead the team across all formats.
Many feel that Virat’s batting has gone down after becoming the captain. He has been giving some lacklustre performances in the games recently. But keeping his batting aside, Virat is a formidable captain. He is the most successful test and T20 skipper of the team even beating the likes of Dhoni & Ganguly. His record is not the same in ODI but he still has the fourth most wins as an Indian captain.
The main reason why many people feel that Virat should step down is his recent batting performance. His last international century came 2 years back against Bangladesh. People are still waiting for his 71st century. Many critics as well feel that Virat’s captaincy has taken a toll on his batting.
With two major international trophies, the T20 world cup and the ODI world cup coming up, the Indian team must gear up. Virat has a huge opportunity to prove his haters wrong by winning the trophy. It seems BCCI has full faith on the shoulders of Kohli to lead the team. Therefore, we as fans should also provide support to boost morale and hope that Kohli and his men bring glory to the nation.