Virat Kohli's future as captain of the Indian cricket team has been the topic of much debate after India lost to New Zealand in the World Test Championship final.
Where several believe that Kohli should step down to allow the concept of split captaincy to take hold in Indian cricket, while others believe that given his contribution to the team since his appointment, he should continue as its leader across all three formats.
Virat Kohli has been India’s most successful Test Captain with 33 wins, however, since the defeat in World Test Championship is being criticised for his captaincy along with other team players. Recently, Suresh Raina, a former India batsman, has stated his opinion on Kohli and his captaincy, thinking that the skipper should be given more time as he has not even won an IPL trophy yet.
Kohli is the captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have never won the IPL since its inception in 2008. "I believe he has been the No. 1 captain. His record shows that he has accomplished a lot. You're talking about an ICC trophy, but he hasn't even won an IPL yet. I believe he needs to be given some time,” said Raina.
India has been close to winning an ICC Trophy three times under Kohli — the Champions Trophy in 2017, the 2019 World Cup, and most recently, the WTC final – but has failed at the final hurdle. With three World Cups in a row on the horizon, Raina is certain that Kohli and India will win at least one ICC trophy.
The former cricketer further stated that “there are 2-3 World Cups taking place one after the other - two T20 World Cups and then the 50-over World Cup. It's not easy to reach the final - sometimes it's impossible."
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Raina went on to say that India's loss in the WTC final was down to the batsmen's performance, not the circumstances. He cited the Indian batsmen's failure in the World T20 final for the team's 8-wicket loss against New Zealand. On the second day, India was bowled out for a paltry 170 runs, setting New Zealand a simple target of 139 runs, which they easily chased down with 8 wickets in hand to win the game comfortably.
"The WTC final was one such example. People said it was because of the conditions but I feel something was lacking in batting. The senior batsmen will have to stitch partnerships and take responsibilities," said Suresh Raina.
After India’s defeat, fans were quick to jump the gun on social media with many using the 'C' word to criticise India's performance in ICC tournaments. Raina retaliated by supporting the team and predicting that the players will win an ICC title within the next year and a half.
"We are not chokers, since we have already won the 1983 World Cup, the 2007 T20 World Cup, and the 2011 50-over World Cup. We must acknowledge that the players are putting in a lot of effort in their training. With three World Cups on the horizon, I doubt they'll be referred to be chokers. We should give them some more time. They're performing well, and Virat can make a game-changing difference. This team's new style must be respected. However, I believe that an ICC trophy would be awarded to India in the next 12 to 16 months " Raina concluded.