Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar believes being aggressive and vocal works well for Virat Kohli as captain. The Indian skipper is known for wearing his heart on the sleeves on the pitch when leading the national team. Kohli never shies away from giving it back to the opposition and likes to play an aggressive brand of cricket.
Agarkar compared Kohli to former India captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, who he claimed is one of the most outspoken people he has come across in Indian cricket. Ganguly had taken over as captain of the Indian team post the match-fixing scandal in 2000 and made the Men in Blue a force to reckon with under his leadership.
India played a different brand of cricket under Ganguly and registered some memorable wins both at home and away from home. Agarkar, who played under Ganguly, believes like the former Indian skipper, being aggressive and vocal works for Kohli as well. And, the former pacer believes Kohli’s way of playing should not be questioned as long as he is not going overboard with his agression.
“Sourav was aggressive. He was one of the most outspoken people I have seen. Sourav’s personality was different, Virat has his own, MS Dhoni has his own. Whatever helps your game, you try to do that, whether as a captain or a player,” Agarkar was quoted as saying by Times of India.
“Maybe being aggressive and vocal helped Sourav on the field. It is probably the case with Virat as well. That’s what helps his game. As long as no line is crossed, I don’t see any problem with it,” he added.
However, Agarkar refrained from making comparisons between Ganguly and Kohli as captains, arguing that they both plied their trades in different eras and have their own qualities as a leader.
“And why compare? Both (Sourav and Virat) played in different eras. Both did well for India. Both are great captains. Both are terrific players,” Agarkar said.
