The ICC 50-over World Cup is set to begin in England next year. With 10 teams in the hunt for the trophy, the tournament is expected to be a closely contested one. The World Cup will return to the place where the game was born after a very long time and considering the declining viewership of Cricket, the mega event next year will be critical to the game's future going ahead.
Having successfully completed a transition from the previous era, India will be one of the favorites to lift the trophy next year. After the team's failure to defend the trophy in Australia in the previous edition, the cricket fans in India will be hoping for a major turnaround next year. The host nation England will be the closest competitors to the Indian Cricket team.
The Indian team's main trump card will be its captain Virat Kohli. The 29-year-old has been the poster boy of International cricket for some time now and all eyes would be on him as he will take part in his 3rd 50-over World Cup event next year. He will be expected to top the batting charts in the competition and the team would rely on his batting to win them matches.
However, Virat Kohli's captaincy has always been subjected to scrutiny ever since he took over the reins from MS Dhoni. While some fans are in disagreement with some decisions that Virat has taken as a captain, the other set of viewers feel that Virat's leadership skills are bringing a new change in the functioning of the Indian team.
There have also been many fans who are of the opinion that Virat should hand over his captaincy to Rohit Sharma after the latter's captaincy has impressed many in recent times. Rohit also has a good track record of a good captain with three IPL titles and also the recent Asia Cup success. This has opened many discussions as to who should lead the Indian team at the World Cup.
It should be noted that Virat Kohli has one of the best winning percentages of all the Indian captains. Many fans are yet to come in terms with the recent changes in the way the Indian team plays cricket as it has been changed drastically from Dhoni's era. MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli have two distinct ways of captaining the team and both have brought success to the country.
Kohli was always groomed as a successor to MS Dhoni as the captain of the Indian team and he has slowly starting proving himself with his leadership skills. Virat is unique as captaincy has never affected his batting. For a player like Kohli, giving more responsibility to him will lead to many victories as he is very hungry for success.
It is very sure that Virat will not be stripped of his captaincy as it could change the dynamics of India's participation in the World Cup. In fact
India has the best chance of winning the World Cup under the Run Machine's leadership.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download Cric Rocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more!