Ex-PAK Skipper Slams Experts Who Considered Virat Kohli As Failed Captain For Not Winning ICC Trophy

Virat Kohli is currently in Indore for the third Test match against Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

New Delhi: Former Indian Captain Virat Kohli recently revealed that there was a time when he was called a ‘failed’ captain by fans and experts after the legendary batter failed to win any ICC Trophy as a captain.

The run machine succeeded MS Dhoni as the captain of Indian cricket team in 2014. Under Kohli’s captaincy, The Men In Blue finished runners-up at the 2017 Champions Trophy, they also made it to the semi-finals of the 50-over World Cup in 2019.

Reflecting on Kohli’s exceptional captaincy tenure, former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt has hit back at the batting icon’s critics for labelling him as a failed captain.

“People who do not understand the game of cricket very well judge a captain’s performance based on how he has fared in the Champions Trophy or the World Cup. However, if you have a good win percentage and are tactically very strong, but haven’t won a big tournament, it wouldn’t be fair to say that you haven’t been a good captain,” Butt said on his YouTube channel.

“There might have been a few mistakes in high-pressure games, or it might just have been a case of luck. Not winning an ICC tournament doesn’t tell us that he [Virat Kohli] wasn’t a strong leader,” added Butt, who played 33 Tests, 24 T20Is and 78 ODIs for Pakistan.

Butt reckoned that Pakistan captain Babar Azam still needs some improvement in his leadership skills.

“There is still some scope for improvement in Babar Azam’s captaincy. When you look at how Virat Kohli led his side in Tests, it was fantastic. He won a lot of matches and even overseas series. However, he couldn’t win a final. When such a thing happens, it seems at times that the team hasn’t been able to win a final because of him,” Butt added.