5 reasons why Ravichandran Ashwin might make a better captain than Virat Kohli

#4 Tactics

Commentators have been bamboozled often during the India-England series with Kohli’s tactics or lack of it thereof. While Ashwin always seems to have plans and more plans for his batsman which he dips into with great elan while explaining them, Kohli lets the game drift, something that is baffling, given the kind of aggressive batsman he is.

Kohli likes dominating with the bat and often goes out of his way to intimidate the bowler, a remarkable trait that somehow goes missing when he is captaining. Long-on and deep point for struggling batsmen, not enough catching positions especially the gully when the ball is doing quite a bit, easy singles and bowling changes without considering the rhythm of the bowlers are some examples of how he has seemed switched off.

At one point during the England innings, Kohli had arguably, India’s weakest fielder in the park, Pujara (Ashwin was bowling) at mid-on which is the most important position, as the commentators screamed on air, for an off-spinner. He chases the ball a lot and doesn’t really get the angles right based on the amount of turn or the bowler bowling, something he probably would have seen Dhoni doing a lot of.

Ashwin would probably be Kumble’s successor in that department as a bowler, understanding bowlers better than the batsman-captain. He will also be aided by his intrinsic nature to keep experimenting.