Former cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin on Friday said that he was surprised by the timing of Virat Kohli’s announcement to step down as Team India T20I captain. Kohli on Thursday posted an official statement on social media on Thursday, where he announced that he would be stepping down from the T20I captaincy after the T20 World Cup. The showpiece event is set to begin on October 17 and the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) President revealed that he was surprised by the timing as the World Cup is “just around the corner”.
Taking to Twitter, Azharuddin wrote, “While it is surprising to hear that @imVkohli has decided to quit the captaincy of the T-20 format, the timing of the announcement is even more surprising as T-20 world cup is just around the corner. Whatever it may cost, it is his decision and so be it.”
While it is surprising to hear that @imVkohli has decided to quit the captaincy of the T-20 format, the timing of the announcement is even more surprising as T-20 world cup is just around the corner. Whatever it may cost, it is his decision and so be it.
— Mohammed Azharuddin (@azharflicks) September 17, 2021
One fan supported the former India captain’s perspective on the development and commented that it wasn’t a wise decision from Kohli.
Meanwhile, another fan had an interesting take on the situation and compared Kohli to Sachin Tendulkar.
“Kohli hasn’t been d batsman that he was for more than 2 yrs,now. And no matter how good Kohli was as batsman,he was never a captaincy material-akin to Sachin.Sachin was wiser to give it up soon. It’s perplexing why d best man to lead #TeamIndia-across formats,is yet not d Captain”, the fan commented.
Kohli hasn’t been d batsman that he was for more than 2 yrs,now. And no matter how good Kohli was as batsman,he was never a captaincy material-akin to Sachin.Sachin was wiser to give it up soon. It’s perplexing why d best man to lead #TeamIndia-across formats,is yet not d Captain
— Manauwarul Haque (@haquem22) September 17, 2021
Unlike Azharuddin, some other former cricketers had a different opinion on Kohli’s decision. In a conversation with news agency ANI, former national selector Saba Karim supported Kohli and explained that captaining in all three formats increased his workload.
“He must have thought about it for a long time, he must have felt that the workload is increasingly getting a bit too much and these days, all three formats having a different championship, it is not easy for one person to be a captain across all three formats”, said Karim.
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Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan took to Twitter to laud Kohli and also hoped that he would win the T20 World Cup.
Surely it came as a shock to hear @imVkohli stepping down from the T20 captaincy after the World Cup.
Looking forward to India winning the world cup as it will be a perfect tribute to his captaincy and hope the team carries his legacy forward.— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 16, 2021
“Surely it came as a shock to hear @imVkohli stepping down from the T20 captaincy after the World Cup. Looking forward to India winning the world cup as it will be a perfect tribute to his captaincy and hope the team carries his legacy forward”, wrote the 2007 World T20 winner.
The T20 World Cup will be hosted in the UAE and Oman with the final to be played in Dubai on November 14. India will play their first fixture on October 24, taking on Pakistan in Dubai.
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