Virat Kohli scored a knock of 51 runs off 63 balls in the opening ODI against South Africa.© AFP
Virat Kohli played his first game as former captain of the Indian cricket team in a 31-run loss to South Africa in the first ODI in Paarl on Wednesday. Kohli played a fine knock of 51 runs but failed to prevent a defeat for his side. With new white-ball skipper Rohit Sharma out of the tour due to injury, stand-in captain KL Rahul began the ODI series on the wrong note with Wednesday’s loss. Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt said the “energy” that Kohli brings to the side as captain was missing in the opening ODI.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Butt also had a hilarious medical analogy of his own to describe the recent changes in the Indian cricket team, including Kohli’s exit as captain.
Asked by a fan whether the BCCI was trying to fix something that wasn’t broken in the first place, Butt said that “there are some doctors who have to give you medicine even if you are absolutely fine”.
“Today there was not the same kind of vibe or energy that Virat usually brings when he is the captain. This happens with some people – their vibe is different when they are captains. It wasn’t very impressive – the energy that a captain should show wasn’t visible here. You should keep on trying and keep the opposition guessing, that wasn’t seen from KL Rahul here,” Butt said.
On the changes in the team, including captaincy, the former Pakistan captain said, “There are some doctors who have to give you medicine even if you are absolutely fine. So if that doctor comes, you are going to get some medicine. So I think this is one of those unfortunate reasons where for no reason, everything seems upset.”
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Butt added that his suggestion for improving India’s performance would be for Rahul to drop down the order.
“The immediate remedy for this I think is for KL Rahul to keep wickets and bat in his usual position in ODIs. They can add an extra batter higher up the order and a genuine fast bowler in place of Bhuvneshwar (Kumar). That will lengthen your batting order – someone in the top-order who can build pressure on the opposition and then your middle order will have loads of experience,” he said.
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