Former England Spinner Monty Panesar feels Virat Kohli should step down as the Test captain if India loses the 2nd Test against England in Chennai. Team India suffered their only second home Test defeat since 2014 when the two countries battled it out at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium as England outplayed India, ultimately winning the match by a massive margin of 227 runs.
The outburst on Virat Kohli by Monty Anderson on the basis of Virat Kohli’s captaincy record in the last 4 Tests which started from India’s tour of New Zealand in February 2020 where India lost both the Tests followed by India’s Adelaide debacle under the captaincy of Virat Kohli where India were bundled down to 36/9. In the aftermath, after Virat Kohli went on paternity leave, Ajinkya Rahane led India to a 2-1 series win in Australia marking India’s consecutive Test series win in Australia.
‘If India loses the second Test, I think Virat Kohli should give up his captaincy’ – Monty Panesar
Under the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane, India have won 4 Tests and have managed to draw 1 Test, perhaps why Monty Panesar wants Virat Kohli to step down so the skipper with an indisputable record can take over as India’s skipper.
While speaking to Times of India, Monty said this series should decide the faith of Kohli’s captaincy. He believes if India loses the current series against England, Ajinkya Rahane should take over as India’s skipper in Tests allowing Virat Kohli to focus just on his batting.
“If he loses this Test series, they’ll probably change the captain. This is a big series for Kohli to win and if he’s not able to do that, I think it would be the end of his captaincy. It is time when Virat just probably should focus on his batting. If this Test series is not won by India, then Rahane should take over the captaincy (in Test cricket) from Virat,” Monty Panesar was quoted saying by TOI.
The left-arm spinner further added if India doesn’t manage to win or draw the subsequent 2nd Test, that should mark Virat Kohli’s last Test as the skipper of the Indian side. Incidentally, Kohli enjoys a stellar record ever since he took over the baton from MS Dhoni in 2014.
“Virat will be under pressure. This is an important series for him. If he loses the second Test, I think he should give up his captaincy. Because India will be down 2-0 in the series and they should change the captain. Virat desperately needs a win or a draw. If he doesn’t, it could be his last match as captain,” Monty Panesar added
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