"Captaincy is not anyone's birthright" - Gautam Gambhir on Virat Kohli's role in the ODI series vs South Africa

Gautam Gambhir feels Virat Kohli doesn't need to do anything different just because he won't captain the Indian ODI side going forward.

The selectors opted to replace Kohli with Rohit Sharma as Team India's ODI skipper after the former gave up the T20I captaincy on his own. However, with Sharma ruled out of the ODI series against South Africa due to a hamstring injury, KL Rahul will be leading the side in his place.

During a discussion on the Star Sports show Game Plan, Gautam Gambhir was asked whether we are going to see a new Kohli. He responded:

"What new do you want to see? Captaincy is not anyone's birthright. People like MS Dhoni have given the captaincy baton to Virat Kohli, he has played under Virat Kohli as wellHe has won three ICC trophies and four IPL trophies as well."

The former India cricketer added that Kohli's sole focus should be on scoring runs and winning matches for the team. Gambhir elaborated:

"I think Kohli should look to score runs and that is more important. When you dream of playing for India, you don't dream to become a captain. You dream of winning games for India and nothing changes, except that you are not going out there to do the toss and set the field placement, but your energy and intensity should remain the same because it's an honor playing for the country."

Kohli will hope to silence all his critics with his performances with the bat during the ODI series against South Africa. He will also want to end the long wait for an international century from his blade.

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"Virat Kohli's role doesn't change one bit" - Gautam Gambhir

Virat Kohli has an exceptional overall record in ODI cricket

Gautam Gambhir was also asked about the role he sees Virat Kohli playing going forward. He replied:

"Exactly the same what he had when he was captaining the side. Batting at No. 3, scoring lots and lots of runs and probably anchoring the innings as well. When Rohit Sharma comes in with KL Rahul at the top of the order, Kohli's role doesn't change one bit."

The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by reiterating that other than performing the captaincy duties, the expectations would be the same as earlier from the former India skipper. Gambhir observed:

"As I just mentioned apart from not going for the toss and setting the field placements, rest everything remains the same. He has got to bat at No.3, he has got to score a lot of runs in white-ball cricket. So I am sure, I think nothing changes."

While Kohli may not have scored an ODI century over the last couple of years, he still had an excellent record in the format. The Indian batting mainstay amassed 560 runs at an impressive average of 46.67 in the 12 ODIs he played in 2020 and 2021 and breached the 50-run mark on seven occasions.