India suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the World Test Championship final at the Oval Stadium against Australia. Although the team made a remarkable comeback on Days 3 and 4, it all came to a head very soon on the last day. Australia set a target of 444 runs, and India went all out on the last day of the first session, losing the match by 209 runs.
Following this, skipper Rohit Sharma said that the team would have liked some more time to prepare, but ex-Pakistan captain Salman Butt countered this statement and said that if they really wanted it, players should have opted out of the IPL 2023, which was held right before the WTC final.
Former Pakistan captain bashes Rohit
The Indian skipper asked why the World Test Championship final was held so soon, and he also said that it should be taken out of England. Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt stated on his YouTube channel that these are the debates that happen when you don’t get the outcome in your favour.
He said Team India should have prioritised the WTC final and sent their team to England 15 days before the final so that they could have played county matches.
Butt mentioned Virat Kohli
Butt also mentioned Virat Kohli and said that “since he left captaincy of the team in early 2022, India’s performance in Test matches away from their home has been dropped. Earlier, India had an admirable record in tests, but things haven’t been the same since Kohli stepped down as captain. The team would have won in India anyway without a captain, but when teams travel overseas, captaincy needs to be appraised well”.
Virat led India to many test Victories
Virat Kohli led Team India to their maiden Test series win in Australia in 2018/19. India’s next tour was in 2021/22, where India again won the series, although Kohli had to travel back to India after the first test match. In 2021, India took a 2-1 lead in the five-match test series against England under his leadership.
The team has been magnificently successful under Virat’s captaincy and has achieved the No. 1 position in Test cricket around the world. It came as a shock to many cricket fans when he announced that his stint as Team India’s captain was over. After Virat, Rohit Sharma was appointed Team India’s new captain.
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