Gautam Gambhir on Virat Kohli’s Role in ODIs vs South Africa: ‘Captaincy is Nobody’s Birthright’

Ind vs SA ODIs: While fans are curious to see how Kohli reacts to this shift, ex-India opener Gautam Gambhir opined on this and said that 'captaincy is nobody's birthright.'

Mumbai: It will be a start of a new era for India as they take on South Africa in ODIs with KL Rahul set to lead the side and Virat Kohli would be playing under him. While fans are curious to see how Kohli reacts to this shift, ex-India opener Gautam Gambhir opined on this and said that ‘captaincy is nobody’s birthright.’

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 well. He has won three ICC trophies and four IPL trophies as well.”

Gambhir said that apart from going out for the toss everything else remains the same as country comes ahead of everything.

“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 would be expected to play a key role in the white-ball leg, especially in the absence of Rohit Sharma. Rahul would hope to get things started with a win.