Srinagar, November 30: Things are not getting easy for Team India skipper and straight batsman Virat Kohli as after unforgettable Indian Premier League outing, his tour at the helm of Team India against Australia in Australia has started on disastrous note.
In the first two ODI’s of the series, hosts outplayed India and raised lot of heat for skipper. Though Kohli himself played valiant inning in second ODI but India still lost by 55 run margin.
While many cricket experts opined that the load of captaincy has been barring Kohli to perform up to his potential, former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh thinks the other way.
During a conversation with India Today, the veteran cricketer said that Kohli is just playing his natural game. Other players in the line-up need to step for the team as the skipper alone can’t win matches.
“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 example for the team to do the needful. For the team to win games,” Harbhajan Singh told India Today.
“I don’t think 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,” he added.
Harbhajan was pleased to see KL Rahul performing in the middle order. The latter played a 76-run innings off 66 balls in the second ODI.
“It’s good to see KL [Rahul] performing but you need 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,” said Harbhajan.
India would like to bounce back strong in the third ODI which is scheduled to be held on December 2 in Canberra.