Dubai: Gulf News readers hailed Indian cricketer Virat Kohli's match-winning knock in the game against Pakistan on Sunday, but most of them were cautious about judging him as an Indian captain in the making.
"Just because he hit a ton, his leadership qualities aren't assured," Gulf News reader Vinod Kewalramani, 39, said. "A captain has to be a leader and Mahendra Singh Dhoni clearly is one, with many years ahead of him. Kohli has to be groomed because he is still very young and it is too early to consider him for captaincy," the Indian manager living in Sharjah added.
Experience
Another reader, Prashant Anand, agreed, saying Kohli needed many more years of experience before he could be considered as a serious contender for captaincy.
"Although he is captain material, a cricketer should be allowed to grow and perform for a few years before he is given an opportunity to head the team for any country," the 39-year-old banker said.
He supported his argument by talking about the impact captaincy had on the performance of Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
"When Tendulkar was appointed captain of the team, his performance suffered. Kohli should be given the time to nurture his talent and to outperform other players for more years, then subsequently they should consider him for this position."
Another reader, 22-year-old Ahad Khalid, felt that Kohli's temperament as a player would play a crucial in determining his future success.
Temperament
"I definitely see signs of a rising talent — it is a rusty talent, which needs to be polished, but he is definitely the best person to take the Indian team forward," the Dubai-based Pakistani said.
"He is a very young chap but he should probably learn from the likes of Dhoni and Tendulkar who show a more admirable temperament on the field. If they can guide him on how they have played for so many years, I see him becoming a much better cricketer," Khalid added.
However, another reader, Fiona Mendonca disagreed that Kohli's temperament was a reason to worry.
"First of all the Indian players came in with so much pressure as it was their highest ever run chase. I wouldn't call Kohli temperamental at all — he was very focused and very calm. Anybody else would have crumbled under that pressure. I think he is superb as is," the 33-year-old executive secretary said.
Talking about speculations on whether he is a captain in the making, Fiona said: "He's definitely the next best thing, he has all the qualities required to be the next captain. He is a young, very talented boy and is definitely India's next captain."
