Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who was hailed as one of the better tacticians in the IPL after he led the Kolkata Knight Riders to twin titles, has now questioned the tactical nous of Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli. Despite having a plethora of stars on its roster, RCB has not been able to win a title and have featured in the final on three occasions.
"Still a long way to go," Gambhir said of Kohli's captaincy on Star Sports. "I don't see him as a shrewd captain. I don't see him as a tactful captain [tactician]. And he hasn't won the IPL. So ultimately, a captain is only as good as his record," he added.
The left-hander also identified the dearth in bowling options as one of the main reasons why the title has eluded the side. He also did not want to compare him to MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, both of whom have won three titles for their respective sides.
'Can't compare him with Dhoni, Rohit'
"I think he has a long way to go. You cannot compare him to someone like Rohit or Dhoni at this stage because he has been part of RCB, and captaining RCB for the last seven to eight years, and he has been very lucky and should be thanking the franchise that they stuck with him because not many captains have got such a long rope where they haven't won a tournament," he added.
However, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has a different take on the issue. He believes that Kohli is an absolute superstar and deserves to captain his franchise.
"If you talk about Virat Kohli and keeping him as a captain, just look at what he has done. What he has done with the bat in every format of the game. Absolute champion. And he deserves to be captain of RCB for whatever period of time. I am sure he will turn it around," Ganguly said in a recent press conference.
As far as Kohli is concerned, he has already highlighted the main reason why the title has eluded the side. The skipper wants his side to respond to pressure scenarios with a more clear head and make decisions best suited for the side. Under Kohli, who took over full-time captaincy back in 2012, RCB have won 44 matches and have tasted defeat on 47 occasions.
