“He will help the new captain to do the right thing" - Irfan Pathan on Virat Kohli's role in the team 

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes just because Virat Kohli is not the captain of the team anymore, it would not stop him from being a leader.

The 34-year-old was axed as ODI captain ahead of the tour of South Africa and was replaced by Rohit Sharma.

The 37-year-old notes that the two alpha figures in Indian cricket will bring in their strengths as leaders to take the team forward.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have contrasting personalities and leadership styles. While speaking to The Hindu, Pathan said:

“He is not the captain, but as long as he is in the team, he is a leader. He will help the new captain to do the right thing."

The former all-rounder termed Virat Kohli as the greatest Test captain India ever had, not because of the results, but on the basis of the message he sent.

Pathan continued:

“He sent out the right messages and he took the team’s fitness to another level. Going forward, I am sure he will help out others, especially Rohit Sharma. Every captain contributes in unique fashion. Kohli had his energy, Rohit will give you calmness.”

Rohit Sharma will take charge of the Indian ODI team for the first time as full-time captain in the upcoming series against West Indies. The Mumbai Indians skipper has led India on sporadic occasions in the format in the absence of Kohli and has produced good results.

"It is commendable that they organized both tournaments" - Irfan Pathan

The former player heaped praise on the BCCI for organizing large-scale tournaments during the pandemic. The BCCI successfully hosted the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Ali Mushtaq trophy last year, but were forced to cancel the Ranji Trophy.

The upcoming season of the Ranji Trophy was initially postponed, but has now been rescheduled to be staged in two phases. Pathan concluded:

"It is commendable that they organised both the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournaments and that too with so many teams. And we have people like Rahul Dravid in decision-making roles. I had suggested last year to him that we should turn the Under-23 age-group into Under-25 so that the youngsters don’t lose their two years.”

The group stage of the Ranji Trophy will begin in February. Plate League matches will begin on February 10 while Elite Group matches will start from February 16 onwards. The knockout leg of the competition will be played after the IPL on May 30.