NEW DELHI: India spin legend Bishan Singh Bedi has said that while there’s no doubt over Virat Kohli’s credentials as a top batsman but he’s yet to have an impact purely as a captain.
Kohli took over the reins from MS Dhoni after he announced retirement from Test cricket during India’s tour of Australia in 2014-15. Since then, he has led in 35 Tests of which India have won 21, lost five with nine ending in a draw. In 49 ODIs as captain, 29-year-old has 38 wins and 10 defeats with one producing no result. And in the shortest format, he has seven victories from 12 T20Is while tasting defeats in five.
Bedi feels that to count Kohli among the real thinkers of the game is a bit early as he hasn’t been tested as a leader. “Let me be very honest. He is leading from the front as a batsman. Team is showing results,” Bedi was quoted as saying by theFirstspost.com. “You talk about Steve Waugh, you talk about Michael Brearley. [They were] real thinkers of the game. He is yet to leave that impact. I want him to show that. He has not been tested yet.”
What leaves Bedi, who took 266 wickets in 67 Tests, in awe of Kohli is his consistency and the intensity with which he approaches his game. “Kohli is phenomenal with his consistency. What I admire more about him is his intensity. He is very intense. He is frighteningly intense,” Bedi said.
A second-string India, under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, is currently in Sri Lanka to take part in a T20I tri-series, also involving Bangladesh. Bedi, however, fails to see any point in India playing Sri Lanka frequently and suggests that the players could have instead played in domestic competitions. “What are we getting out of Sri Lanka? We beat them in their backyard, as well as on our soil, and now we are once again in the island nation to play cricket. They could’ve easily played domestic cricket,” he opined.