Salman Butt has said that Virat Kohli’s sacking as India's ODI captain has severely affected the confidence of the Indian team.
Former Pakistan player Salman Butt has shared his views on India’s constant defeats in the ongoing ODI series. He has said that Virat Kohli’s sacking as India‘s ODI captain has severely affected the confidence of the Indian team. Butt also claimed that there is an uncertainty prevailing in Indian cricket as well. His comments came after India’s second consecutive defeat in the 2nd ODI of the three-match series against South Africa.
Salman Butt said on his YouTube channel: “India earlier had a very good captain, who is an outstanding and world-class performer. But now, the other players in the team are thinking – if he cannot do it, then what can we do? If a player like Kohli has been sacked as captain, they one can only imagine what can happen to the others. This is not a good message being sent across. The structure of the team has been dented.”
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However, Virat Kohli was sacked as Team India captain by the BCCI prior to the South Africa series whereas he stepped down from the T20 captaincy last year as well. And, Rohit Sharma has been appointed as his replacement but he was eventually ruled out of the entire series due to a hamstring injury. In his absence, KL Rahul has been leading the team in the ODI series as well. Notably, Rahul has also led the team in the second Test in Johannesburg in the absence of Kohli, who was ruled out due to back spasms.
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“KL Rahul is looking meek. India’s display was also meek under him. He’s probably not ready for the position that has come to him. Mentally, he doesn’t seem to be ready. He was getting better as a cricketer. It’s hard on the guy as well. Rahul’s a wonderful player. But if you give him such a huge responsibility before he is prepared and that too with a legend already present in the team, it is not easy to absorb,” Salman Butt signed off.