Gambhir tears into Kohli over RCB failure
Former India batsman Gautam Gambhir feels Virat Kohli should be replaced as captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore after the team ended yet another Indian Premier League campaign without the trophy.
India captain Kohli has led the Bangalore side for the last eight editions during which they have just made the final once in 2016, when they went down to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
It was the same team, led by Australian David Warner, that eliminated Kohli’s side from this year’s edition in the United Arab Emirates in a low-scoring thriller on Friday.
Asked if Kohli should be removed from RCB’s captaincy, Gambhir told ESPNCricinfo: “100 per cent, because the problem is about accountability. Eight years into the tournament, eight years is a long time.
“Tell me any other captain ... forget about captain, tell me any other player who would have got eight years and wouldn’t have won the title and would have still continued with it.”
Gambhir, who led the Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014, said Kohli needs to take responsibility for the team’s lack of success and be accountable.
“The problem and the accountability starts from the top, not from the management nor the support staff, but from the leader,” said Gambhir, who was one of the vital cogs in India’s triumph in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007.
“You’re the leader, you’re the captain. When you get the credit, you should take the criticism as well.
“It’s not that Kohli isn’t experienced. He captains India, he captains whichever team he plays for, but you’ve got to give results, you’ve got to deliver. Sport is all about delivering.”
For someone like Rohit, who is on the cusp of his fifth title, a long stint as Mumbai Indians captain has been only possible because he has delivered, said Gambhir.
“We talk about MS Dhoni, we talk about Rohit Sharma, we talk about Virat Kohli...not at all. Dhoni has won three (IPL) titles, Rohit Sharma has won four titles, and that’s the reason they’ve captained for such a long time because they’ve delivered.”
It was only AB de Villiers who came up some match-winning performances to prevent RCB’s season from becoming a total disaster. “Imagine if AB would have had a bad season, tell me what would have happened to RCB,” Gambhir said.
“He was the one who actually won them two or three games out of seven. I don’t think as a unit they’ve done anything different from what they did last year. It’s exactly the same this year as well. Only because you’ve qualified for the playoffs, just because of one individual’s absolute brilliance, it doesn’t make you a strong contender to win the IPL.”