Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has termed Virat Kohli as the best captain in the world and miles above the rest after he led India to a phenomenal victory by an innings and 137 runs in the second Test against South Africa at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Sunday. With the win, India sealed the three-match series 2-0 continuing their dominant streak in the ICC World Test Championship where they have bagged four wins in a row.
Kohli led from the front with a magnificent 254-run-knock as he combined with opener Mayank Agarwal (108) to power India to a huge total of 601 runs in their first innings before the bowlers took charge.
“I had said earlier that Virat Kohli is going to become a good captain after the World Cup 2019 because he is learning from his mistakes. He has figured out how to sort out the batting order. He is the best captain in the world at the moment, miles above the rest in current era. The thing I like about Virat Kohli is that he is a fearless captain. He ran all over South Africa,” Akhtar said in a Youtube video.
“Credit to India, congratulations to them for record 11 consecutive Test series wins at home. They have a fearless captain who is not worried about his personal runs. His attitude on the pitch was fantastic after scoring 254. He put his country ahead of him by declaring. That’s what really matters. That’s what I like about Virat Kohli,” he added.
While he was all praise for Kohli, Akhtar rated Faf du Plessis as an average captain after his side suffered second straight defeat against India in the Test series. The former Pakistan pacer also said he was disappointed by South Africa’s poor show in the first two games and their deterioration in Test cricket.
“Faf du Plessis, I feel is an average captain. His captaincy was average in the World Cup. He is batting at number 6 in India with Quinton de Kock at number 7. They have no good spinner in the team, how will you win against India? His tactics in the series have also failed in terms of bowling changes,” said Akhtar.
“Disappointed with the mediocrity of the captaincy and the deterioration of South African cricket which I got to witness through the captaincy. Pakistan are down, South Africa are down, West Indies are down and so is Bangladesh. Then who is going to play Test cricket? We need to save Test matches and bring more improvement in the format,” he added.
