Former England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar has said that the pressure of performing and leading his side to a victory in Tests might be building on Team India skipper Virat Kohli suggesting that he might take a huge call on his captaincy if India are to lose the second Test against England in the ongoing series.
India's Test captaincy debate took another turn on Tuesday after the hosts lost to England by 227 runs in the first Test in Chennai. Virat Kohli, who now stands at an unwanted streak for a skipper, losing his all the last four games, hasn't been able to inspire his side from his leadership.
Speaking to WION, Monty Panesar said, "Virat Kohli is one of the greatest batsmen of all-time. But the team is simply not doing well under him and we have the result in the last four Tests that India played under him. I think Kohli will be under pressure and more now because Rahane has done phenomenally well as the captain. India have already lost four Tests in a row and if the number goes to five in the next match, then I think he will step down from his role."
Not just the captaincy, the star of England's 2012/13 series win in India, Panesar came down heavily on team management's decision of playing one Test old Shahbaz Nadeem over the experienced Kuldeep Yadav in the game, after Axar Patel injured himself in the nets, a day before the match started.
"I just don’t understand why India would play Shahbaz Nadeem over Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep has been with the team since ages, he is bowling regularly in the nets and is in a rhythm. I don’t know how much Nadeem has played since the lockdown but Kuldeep should have started," he reckoned. Nadeem picked four wickets in the game, but proved to be expensive as he gave away 167 runs and 66 runs in the two innings going at 3.8 and 4.4 respectively.
Panesar was also delighted with his side's win, given how dominant India are in the Test matches especially in their home conditions and beating them so comprehensively will surely bring excitement amongst the English fans, who have long awaited their team's consistent performances in the longest format, away from home.
"It is an unbelievable win. The way England have played over the last five days show how much confidence is there in that team. Joe Root needs to be lauded for the way he led his troops from the front. Everyone in that team stepped up in some manner and that is what makes team sport great. The players need to savior this moment. It will be celebrated for long," Panesar said.
