Rajkumar Sharma, Virat Kohli’s childhood coach has said that the Indian skipper is as good a tactician as he is as a batsman.
“Even when he was a teenager, he used to plan everything, field placements, bowling changes… He is a tremendous leader and his record speaks for himself. If you see his last 2 years’ record then he has been just brilliant,” Rajkumar Sharma told Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview.
Sharma had an interesting take on Kohli’s decision to go in the outfield during slog overs of an ODI and let Dhoni take the charge.
“He has to go in the outfield because he’s also the best fielder of the side. That doesn’t mean he needs anybody’s support. People can advise him, that’s alright but he’s a capable leader himself,” said Sharma.
After Rohit Sharma’s success in IPL and his returns as an Indian skipper in the Asia Cup, there were also talks of split captaincy to ease the burden on Kohli. But Sharma feels Kohli is the best man to lead India in all formats of the game.
“There is no reason for India to look for anyone else… T20s and ODIs are different and I cannot even think of comparing IPL and international cricket,” Sharma said.
Putting his weight firmly behind his ward, Sharma said that Kohli will lead India to glory in England.
“India go in as the favourites and one of the main reasons for that is Virat. The team has been playing really well under him and I believe we have a great chance of winning the cup,” said Sharma.
India play two warm-up games against New Zealand and Bangladesh before playing their first match of World Cup 2019 against South Africa on June 5.
