Despite leading the Indian teams to new heights, Virat Kohli remains an unsuccessful captain for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In comparison, his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni and current deputy Rohit Sharma have lifted the IPL trophy three-times each, making them the two most successful captains in the league.
That's what former India opener Gautam Gambhir, who himself led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to two IPL titles feels about Kohli. He also claimed that Kohli is in fact "lucky" to have survived in a result-oriented franchise like the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) despite never winning the title in his eight years as skipper.
"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," Gambhir told on host broadcasters' 'Star Sports' show 'GamePlan'.
Gambhir's comment is specific to Kohli's success as a leader in IPL since he is the first captain who has led India to a Test series win on Australian soil.
"There are people who have won the trophy three times. MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. So I think he has a long way to go. You cannot compare him to someone like Rohit or Dhoni at this stage," Gambhir said.
"He has been a 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," said Gambhir, who had to part ways with KKR in 2018 after seven long years and two titles.
Gambhir's last IPL season was with Delhi Daredevils where he stepped down from captaincy midway after his run in the tournament went from bad to worse.
However, another former skipper Sourav Ganguly, who had a tumultuous time as KKR captain, felt that there should be no questions about Kohli's captaincy.
"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.
(With PTI inputs)
