IND vs ENG: Former India opener and skipper Sunil Gavaskar has criticised Kohli’s aggressive style, saying that aggression does not have to be in your face.
While the cricketing world, including former England captain Nasser Hussain, was enthralled by Kohli’s aggression in leading the Indian team to victory in the second Test at Lord’s.
Gavaskar was irritated by the comparisons made between the teams he played for and the one Kohli was leading.
Hussain had written in his column that “Virat Kohli is the right man at the right time to lead this formidable India side”.
He then added, “His players, in particular the bowlers, want an aggressive captain. They want Kohli stirring things up, as he did so effectively in that brilliant second Test at Lord’s… This India are not a side who will be bullied, as perhaps previous generations have been.”
Sunil Gavaskar didn’t like aggressive cricket
“When you say previous generations were bullied, I don’t think so. I’d be very upset if my generation was being talked about as being bullied. If you have a look at the record, in 1971 we won, that was my first tour in England. 1974, we had internal problems so we lost 3-0. 1979, we lost 1-0, it could have been 1-1 if we chased down 438 at the Oval. 1982 we again lost 1-0. In 1986 we won 2-0, we could have won it 3-0,” Gavaskar recalled during the official broadcast.
“I don’t think aggression means you have always got to be at the face of the opposition. You can show passion, you can show your commitment towards your team without yelling after each fall of wicket,” added Gavaskar.
The obvious reference was to the way Kohli has behaved on the field.
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