India skipper Virat Kohli
Questions were raised over Virat Kohli's captaincy after India suffered a 51-run defeat in the second ODI against Australia on Sunday. While hunting down a massive total again, the Indian batting unit fizzled out while keeping up with the required run-rate.
Australia scored a mammoth total of 389 and India could only manage to reach 338 in 50 overs. Skipper Kohli, leading from the front, slammed 89 off 87 deliveries but it wasn't enough to guide his side to the victory.
The Indian bowling unit looked clueless yet again. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal looked out of sorts against a robust Australian batting unit, led by Steve Smith's quick-fire ton and Glenn Maxwell's 29-ball 63.
Following India's series loss and unimpressive shows in both the ODIs, several fans lambasted Kohli's captaincy and even backed Rohit Sharma to take over. Kohli's leadership skills have come under scrutiny after Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) failed to lift their maiden title in recent IPL edition.
As Kohli's captaincy is being questioned by many fans, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has come forward in support of the skipper. According to Harbhajan, Kohli isn't being affected by the 'burden' of captaincy. He pointed out that the team needs more guys to step up and deliver as one guy cannot win you games.
“I don’t think Kohli is under any kind of pressure with captaincy, don’t think it’s a burden for him. I think he enjoys those challenges, he is a leader, who leads from the front and sets an example for the team to do the needful,” Harbhajan Singh told India Today.
“Captaincy is affecting Virat Kohli as it’s obviously one guy cannot win you the game. As I said, even after the World Cup, you know you have Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, standing and taking the team forward and scoring most of the runs.
“It’s good to see KL [Rahul] performing but you need a couple of more guys consistently doing well for Team India. So the pressure can shift off a little bit from Virat so that he can bat freely, he can do what he needs and also enjoy the game,” added Harbhajan.
