Bishen Singh Bedi Takes a Dig at Virat Kohli, Says Indian Cricket Team Captain Is 'Doing All He Wants'
The former skipper, however, praised Kohli’s capability as a batsman and said that he is passionate.
Former Indian cricketer Bishen Singh Bedi has slammed Virat Kohli and said that the Indian captain is “doing all he wants and we are letting it happen”. The former Indian captain was referring to Kohli’s differences with Anil Kumble, who after the skipper’s interference had to step down from head coach’s post last year. India vs Australia 2018: 5 Records & Stats You Need to Know Ahead of the IND vs AUS T20I Series
“That is what I am saying, one person (Virat Kohli) is doing all he wants and we are letting it happen. What would Anil (Kumble) have said, he was gracious to leave it like that,” Bedi told Aaj Tak.
The former skipper, however, praised Kohli’s capability as a batsman and said that he is passionate. Meanwhile, Bedi also added that there is too much pressure on Kohli despite cricket being a team sport. “In fact, our team is made of one person, everything is about Kohli. The amount of focus there is, you don’t realise how much pressure you are putting on that kid [Kohli], both as a batsman and a captain,” Bedi said. India VS Australia T20I 2018: Indian Batsmen Ready to Take On ‘Tall Aussie Bowlers’ on Fast Pitches, Says Rohit Sharma
He also said that the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner should not affect Australia as the “team is not made of two individuals”. “The Indian team is good, we all know that but the same team went to England and South Africa and those teams were also “weak”. Yes the bans have happened on two kids [Steve Smith and David Warner] but a team is not made of two individuals,” he said.
India’s tour of Australia begins with the three-match T20 International series on Wednesday. After the T20Is the two teams will face-off in a four-match Test series followed by three One-Day Internationals (ODIs).
Kohli, who was rested for T20Is against Windies, is back in the team for game’s shortest format. This is also Kohli’s first assignment after the ‘leave India’ comment which sparked a huge controversy in India.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 19, 2018 05:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).