Legendary India all-rounder Kapil Dev has weighed into the war of words between Steve Waugh and Virat Kohli, defending the Indian captain’s aggressive brand of captaincy.
On Tuesday before the Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco, Waugh criticized Kohli, saying he was “over the top.”
“I have seen him in South Africa and I feel that he was little over the top,” said Waugh. “But that’s a learning thing for a captain.”
Waugh went on to say Kohli does not seem to understand some of his players.
“As a captain, he (Kohli) is still developing and needs some time to pull in his excitement factor and emotions but that’s the way he plays,” said the former Australian Test captain, who himself was known for his hard line leadership.
“I think he just needs to get a bit aware that everyone in the side can’t 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.
“At times he probably needs to tone his aggression down and at times he needs to lift it, so he needs to work it out what’s right.”
Kapil Dev believes Kohli has the balance right.
Dev, who scored 5,248 runs and took 434 wickets in 131 Tests between 1978 and 1994, hit back at Waugh saying Kohli is changing the Indian “thought process”.
“Steve has his opinion. I’m not going to respond to that,” Dev told First Post. “I feel as long as success is coming to the team, that’s good enough.
“Basically, our nation is a very soft nation. Virat is one of the few who have come out and changed the thought process. In fact, it was Sourav Ganguly who started changing our thought process.
“And then we had MS Dhoni, who was a totally different person. He was calm and quiet. So it’s what works for you.
Steve Waugh says Kohli is “over the top”.
“As long as success is coming on the field, that’s more important. I think Virat (Kohli) will mellow down as time passes.
“If not, that’s his decision. He’s always been like this ever since I saw him in his U-19 days.”
The Laureus Sports Awards are being presented on Tuesday evening at the “Salle des Etoiles”, part of The Sporting Club Monte Carlo in Monaco.
