Virat Kohli
Former Indian cricketer and presently an analyst, Aakash Chopra on Monday picked the player who is next in line to succeed Virat Kohli to be the Indian cricket team captain. Although, Aakash feels that IPL 2020 will show how he will perform in the role.
Aakash picked KL Rahul who will be leading the Kings XI Punjab side in IPL 2020. The decision was taken by the franchise after they traded former skipper R Ashwin to Delhi Capitals ahead of the IPL auction last December.
“I have hope that his captaincy will be good. Actually, we will get an idea of his captaincy, how he runs the game, what strategies he uses. If we see Kohli and Rohit, they are of the same age bracket and at one time you may feel that they are not captain material anymore,” Chopra said while responding to fan questions in a video shared on his Facebook page.
In the present scenario, Rohit Sharma is given captaincy duties when Kohli opts to rest or is injured. But as Aakash explains, both are of the same age and hence Rohit cannot be looked as Kohli's replacement. Moreover, Rahul seems to have cemented his place in Kohli's Indian side which has seen ample chopping and changes since 2018. Aakash's suggestion for the captaincy role also means Rahul is being considered by the veteran for the limited-overs cricket given that Rahul was axed from the Test side last September.
“As they say, a time comes when you have to pass on the baton like MS Dhoni did to Kohli and Kohli will also have to do to someone at some point. When he does that, it is possible that Rahul will be next in line,” Chopra said.
“So, this IPL will show us how KL Rahul will be like a captain but I feel, the manner in which I have seen him play and his temperament, I feel he will be a good captain.”
