IPL 2019: Gautam Gambhir questions RCB skipper Virat Kohli's tactical nous

Sudhir Gupta 20:47 19/03/2019
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  • Virat Kohli (l) and Gautam Gambhir (r).

    Former Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir has questioned Virat Kohli’s tactical nous ahead of the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

    Gambhir, who lead Kolkata to two IPL titles as skipper, believes that Kohli has a long way to go before he can be considered as a good captain.

    Kohli has been leading Royal Challengers Bangalore since the 2012 edition but has failed to end the franchise’s title drought in the competition despite having a star-studded side at his disposal.

    Speaking about Kohli’s captaincy on Star Sports’ show Game Plan, Gambhir said, “Still a long way to go.”

    “I don’t see him as a shrewd captain. I don’t see him as a tactful captain. And he hasn’t won the IPL. So ultimately, a captain is only as good as his record.”

    While Kohli has been highly successful as India skipper across all three formats, his seven-year captaincy tenure at Bengaluru has left plenty to be desired. Under Kohli in the IPL, Royal Challengers have managed to make it to the play-off stage on just two occasions with the side finishing sixth in the 2018 edition.

    Kohli is yet to deliver an IPL title for Bangalore.

    Kohli is yet to deliver an IPL title for Bangalore.

    Gambhir believes the India superstar is lucky to still be at the helm of Royal Challengers despite their years of underachievement.

    “There are people who have won the trophy three times. MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. So I think he (Kohli) has a long way to go,” said Gambhir.

    “You cannot compare him to someone like Rohit (Sharma) or (MS) Dhoni at this stage because he has been part of RCB, and captaining RCB for the last seven to eight years, and he has been very lucky and should be thanking the franchise that they stuck with him because not many captains have got such a long rope where they haven’t won a tournament.”

    Kohli and Royal Challengers Bangalore will open their IPL 2019 campaign against defending champions Chennai Super Kings on March 23 at Chennai.

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