Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg believes removing Virat Kohli from Test captaincy would destroy the culture of the Indian team. After the historic Test series win in Australia, several cricket pundits have backed Ajinkya Rahane to lead the Indian team in Tests. Rahane took over the charge of the Indian team after the first Test when Kohli returned to the home on paternity leave.
Rahane impressed many with his field placements and bowling changes throughout the series. Meanwhile, Kohli has returned to the Indian squad for the first two Tests against England and will lead the team again.
Hogg claims Kohli bats better with the responsibility of the leadership while removing him from it might affect his batting.
“He (Virat Kohli) bats better when he is the captain. I think if you change it, it would destroy the culture of that Indian team. It might affect Kohli’s batting. He wouldn’t want it to happen, but it will happen,” Hogg said on his Youtube channel.
However, Hogg heaped huge praise on Rahane’s captaincy and said he quite decisive and doesn’t get agitated.
“Yes, Ajinkya Rahane has done a fantastic job in the last three Tests in Australia. He is cool, calm and collected. He is quite decisive, and he doesn’t get agitated. He is a fantastic leader. But I will leave him as vice-captain because I think Virat Kohli leads from the front,” added Hogg.
Hogg also gave a suggestion of including Rishabh Pant in the limited-overs set up in place of Shreyas Iyer. The veteran spinner said Pant has proved himself with impressive performances on Australian soil
“I would be putting him there right now because he has got the confidence and the belief. He has proven himself with two match-winning knocks in this Test series. You can’t get better than that playing for India on Australian soil. I would put him in place of Iyer. Keep your all-round options there for batting and bowling depth. He will be there for either Iyer or Sanju Samson,” said Hogg
“He is hard to bowl to because he plays a variety of shots that are different to any other batsman. Get him in there,” added Hogg.