T20 World Cup 2021: “If he gets criticism for losses, he deserves credit for wins” - Agarkar finds comparisons between Kohli and Dhoni’s captaincy unfair

Former pacer Ajit Agarkar reckons skipper Virat Kohli deserves credit for India’s victory over Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. He did not approve of suggestions that there were shades of MS Dhoni’s leadership in Kohli’s captaincy style against Afghanistan.

India got the better of the Afghans by 66 runs to keep their slender hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2021 alive. Batting first, India put up 210 for 2 and then restricted the opposition to 144 for 7.

Asked if he found the stamp of Dhoni’s leadership style in Kohli’s captaincy against Afghanistan, Agarkar replied with a firm ‘No’. In a discussion on ESPN Cricinfo, Agarkar opined:

“Kohli has been the captain for a long time now and he has his own style. If he gets criticism for losses, then he deserves credit for wins as well. It was his captaincy. The batters set up the match today and then Virat did his job as leader. So full credit to him.”

Dhoni is part of the Indian T20 World Cup 2021 squad as a mentor. The legendary cricketer was the last Indian captain to lift an ICC trophy when the Men in Blue won the Champions Trophy in 2013.

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“Varun Chakravarthy did not bowl badly in the first two matches” - Ajit Agarkar on Ashwin's belated inclusion

R Ashwin celebrates the wicket of Najibullah Zadran. Pic: Getty Images

Following a niggle to leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy, India brought in experienced off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for the game against Afghanistan. He delivered the goods with figures of 2 for 14. In contrast, Chakravarthy went wicketless in the first two games.

Agarkar, however, did not agree with the view that India erred by not playing Ashwin earlier. Agarkar countered:

“I think Varun Chakravarthy did not bowl badly in the first two matches. It was the batting that was poor. If India wanted to play six bowlers, Ravichandran Ashwin could have come into the team earlier. But since India were already playing a finger spinner in Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakravarthy was the right choice.”

Chakravarthy registered figures of 0 for 33 and 0 for 23 against Pakistan and New Zealand respectively. He missed the match against Afghanistan with a left calf issue.