AUS v IND | Virat Kohli’s captaincy a work in progress: VVS Laxman

In recent times, the Indian team’s captaincy has been a hot topic of debate and many pundits have voiced their opinion in favour of having different captains for Test and white-ball cricket. Former India batsman VVS Laxman, however, has put his weight behind Virat Kohli for leading the side in all three formats. But he still believes that there are a couple of things Kohli can improve upon as a captain.

“I mentioned so many times, the intensity and the body language he shows when he’s on the field, whether he’s batting or fielding, I think he leads by example and that is so infectious,” Laxman shared his opinion on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’.

“It rubs off on all of his team-mates and that’s why he’s a perfect role model of how a captain should be. There’s still work-in-progress as far as captaincy is concerned. Couple of things I think Virat Kohli can improve,” he added.

Laxman said that the constant change in the lineups might leed to insecurity among players and that’s why he thinks that Kohli needs to be more consistent with a core group of players, and needs to back them more.

“…there were certain times when I felt that he becomes little defensive, especially with his field changes.

“The second thing is chopping and changing the playing 11. With experience, I can say that any player, whether experienced or a newcomer, wants that stability, security, so that he can focus on performing to the best of his abilities for the team. That’s something which Virat Kohli can definitely improve on,” he pointed out.

India will kick off the four-match Test series against Australia with the Pink-ball Test at Adelaide, starting on December 17. Laxman also shared his thoughts on the upcoming series. He said that he was surprised not to see KL Rahul in the warm-up matches.

“I think it’s the batting line-up and it’s the opening combination. When we see the practice games, I was surprised that KL Rahul was not playing the only practice match with the Pink Ball,” he said.

“That means he is not in the fray as far as the first Test is concerned, which means it has to be decided between Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill. Prithvi Shaw, low in confidence, Shubman Gill hasn’t played a single Test match.

“So, inexperience is there as far as the opening partner, who is going to open with Mayank Agarwal. So, that’s the biggest question I feel Virat Kohli has in front of him,” Laxman said.