‘ Kohli has to tone down aggression’
New Delhi, July 29: Former skipper Mohammad Azharuddin considers Virat Kohli as the future captain of India but said the young cricketer needs to tone down his aggression and behave like a leader.
“He has to tone down. You cannot be like that always. I know he is very good player. He has a big reputation. He is considered as the future captain and he has to behave like a captain,” Azharuddin told reporters.
Kohli, who successfully captained India to a 3- 0 unassailable lead against Zimbabwe in the ongoing ODI series, has been in news on and off for his dose of aggression and onfield spats. “Kohli’s nature is different, I understand that but then everybody looks upto him. Being aggressive is good but he has to be aggressive from inside, showing it on the outside won’t help. If he tones down a little bit it will be good for him,” said Azharuddin, under whose captaincy India have won 103 ODIs and 14 Tests.
Senior players including Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan — who formed the core of India’s World Cup winning team in 2011 are currently out of team either with injuries or bad form.
Asked if India will need the experience of these seniors when they tour South Africa, Azharuddin said: “We need experience and young players also. Young players have been doing well and you can’t drop players just because they don’t have experience, it won’t be good for their confidence. So we have to select a balanced side for South Africa.”