Former India cricketer Suresh Raina has said that though Team India skipper Virat Kohli is one of the finest captains India has ever seen but it will be too early to pass any judgment on his achievements as a skipper.
Raina, in an interview with News24, said that Kohli is the No. 1 batsman in world cricket. He said, “I think he has been the No. 1 captain. His record proves that he has achieved a lot. I think he is the No. 1 batsman in the world. You’re talking about an ICC trophy but he hasn’t even won an IPL yet. I feel that he needs to be given some time. There are 2-3 World Cups taking place one after the other – two T20 World Cups and then the 50-over World Cup. It’s not easy to reach the final – sometimes you miss out on a few things.”
Raina’s statement, which has now gone viral, has come few days after India lost against New Zealand in the finals of the World Test Championship.
It is to be noted that though Kohli is one of the best batsmen in in all formats of the game, he is yet to win an ICC tournament as captain. Interestingly, Kohli;s winning percentage is better than legendary captains like MS Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly.
Raina also slammed the critics for calling the Indian team ‘chokers’ after losing the WTC finale. He said, “we are not chokers, because we already have the 1983 World Cup, 2007 T20 World Cup the then 50-over World Cup in 2011. We need to understand that players are training hard. With three World Cups approaching, I don’t think anyone will call them chokers.”
