Karachi: Trinidadian cricket commentator and journalist Fazeer Mohammed believes that the Indian side relies heavily on their captain Virat Kohli.
His comment came in the wake of India’s defeat in the fourth Test of the ongoing five-match series against England where the visiting side’s batting order, while chasing an attainable target of 245 runs, crumbled badly after the fall of Kohli’s wicket.
“What the series has shown, apart from anything else, is India has an unhealthy reliance on their captain to anchor the batting effort time and time again,” Pakpassion.net quoted Mohammed, as saying.
“Virat Kohli has responded to the challenge magnificently, yet whenever his wicket falls, as occurred on the fourth day of the fourth Test in Southampton, Test cricket’s top nation immediately looks prone to collapse,” he added.
The commentator, meanwhile, also reflected on former England skipper Alastair Cook’s retirement from cricket, stating that the former is unarguably an “outstanding” opening batsman but whether to consider him as one of the greats is debatable.
“When you take into consideration the fact that he has played more Test cricket than anyone else, and in an era of generally batsman-friendly conditions, and against some pretty ordinary bowling attacks, it is highly debatable whether he should be placed ahead of the likes of Jack Hobbs, Len Hutton, Geoff Boycott and Cook’s own Essex mentor, Graham Gooch,” he said.
“Outstanding opening batsman, yes. One of the greats though? Well, that is debatable,” he added.
India and England will now head into their final Test of the ongoing series, in which the visiting side are trailing 1-3, from September 7 to September 11. (ANI)