Former Indian batsman, Aakash Chopra recently spoke on former skipper Virat Kohli’s decision of quitting captaincy because of the pressure of not being able to win a title.
Aakash shared his views on the ongoing Asia Cup in a ShareChat Audio Chatroom attended by over 1,63,954 users in India.
A cricketer-turned writer and a former batsman, Aakash has become vital to Indian Cricket broadcasting with his commendable commentary. He recently engaged with his fans in the ShareChat Audio Chatroom session- ‘CricChat powered by Parimatch’.
Speaking about Kohli’s decision, Aakash said: “There was just one T20 world cup, that he played as a captain, where we reached the semi-final. To be blamed because of just one bad day, it was unfair towards him.” He added, “Not that I am a Kohli Captaincy fan, I saw flaws in his captaincy and criticized where required, but a trail by fans situation shouldn’t have been created.”
Talking further on the captaincy, according to him, irrespective of whether India wins this World Cup or loses, Rohit Sharma will lead the Indian team for the 2023 World Cup and there must be a change in the captain afterwards. ”Since Rohit Sharma won’t get any younger, a plan of succession is required. Hardik Pandya could lead the Indian Team”, he added.
He later went on to praise Hardik Pandya’s current form and called him the most important player in T20 cricket at the moment.
Aakash referred to the recent India-Pakistan match which gave fans an adrenaline rush as a ‘Free Manicure’. He said, “The India-Pakistan match lived up to the hype, it was a tug of war leaning to either side every second. As a broadcaster, it was my job to remain neutral, but it was an India-Pakistan match after all. I just wanted India to win.” He further added that India must have missed Shaheen in the match.
During the session, Aakash Chopra also discussed the playing order of the team, “It is unfair for Dinesh Kartik to be playing at number 7, considering he is a specialist.”
Aakash Chopra also spoke about his cricketing and broadcasting career and gave insights from his journey. Suren Sundaram, a well-known radio jockey and sports anchor, moderated the discussion.