File photo of Virat Kohli (right) with Mohammed Shami.
Following India's ODI series defeat in Australia with consecutive losses, Ashish Nehra came down heavily on Virat Kohli's captaincy ability saying that the 32-year-old batsman is an impulsive captain.
In the last two matches, Indian bowlers have conceded close to 750 runs, putting pressure on batsmen of chasing mammoth totals. None of the Indian strike bowlers found their rhythm in the first two matches with likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami giving away runs in heaps after a strong IPL season.
Nehra blamed Kohli for making frequent changes in the bowling, not allowing bowlers to settle down.
“I believe, Kohli is an impulsive captain. He is making too many changes in his bowling. And this is an area that he needs to take care of,” the former Indian pacer told Cricbuzz.
“In today’s game, Virat Kohli gave two overs to Mohammed Shami and then brought Navdeep Saini. He wanted Shami to bowl from the other end, that I understand, but then, why would he use Jasprit Bumrah for only two overs with the new ball?” Nehra said.
“I agree Virat Kohli is making frequent changes in bowling. He only had five bowling options. India used Mayank Agarwal and Hardik Pandya - it was a decision made on the ground. If things were going in India’s way, you would not have seen these two getting an over.
Nehra also suggested that Kohli was at fault in India's loss in the first ODI saying that he has been taking decision in haste and was in hurry to chase down the total.
"Virat Kohli is being hasty in his decisions. In the previous game (first ODI) as well, after Kohli was dropped, it seemed like he is in a hurry. Kohli has chased 350 several times in his career, it is not a big deal for him. But it seemed like he was chasing 475, not 375,” the 41-year-old retired cricketer said.
Earlier, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir also came down heavily on Kohli saying he is unable to understand captaincy of his fellow Delhi cricketer.
