• Gautam Gambhir and Aakash Chopra got involved in verbal argument during a talk show.

  • Both the former cricketers were speaking during the Kohli vs Rohit T20 captain debate.

Gautam Gambhir and Aakash Chopra engage in a heated argument over Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma as T20 captain
Gautam Gambhir and Aakash Chopra gets involve in a heated exchange over Rohit Sharma vs Virat Kohli (Image Source: Twitter)

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Indian opener Rohit Sharma recently added another feather to his captaincy in Indian Premier League (IPL) after he led Mumbai Indians (MI) to their fifth title triumph. With the victory in the final of IPL 2020, MI also became the only second team after MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to win back-to-back titles in the history of the cash-rich league.

After yet another magnificent performance as a leader, the debate over India’s T20 captaincy has grown strong. Many experts and former cricketers reckon that Rohit should replace Kohli as the captain of Team India in the shortest format. However, some analysts of the game are of the opinion that Kohli should continue as India’s T20 skipper.

Speaking on the same topic, former India cricketers Aakash Chopra and Gautam Gambhir were recently involved in a heated argument. While Gambhir spoke in favour of Rohit to be handed over the T20 captaincy, Chopra went with Kohli.

Gambhir started the discussion by saying that Kohli is not a bad leader, but in comparison, Rohit is better. Gambhir opined that there is a huge difference in captaincy skills between Rohit and Kohli.

“Virat Kohli is not a bad captain, but Rohit Sharma is better. There is a major difference between the quality of captaincy,” said Gambhir on Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected.

Soon, Chopra responded to Gambhir’s comments, stating that with only 5-6 T20Is left for Indian team before the T20 World Cup there is no room for any change as of now.

“There is no time for changes in order to build a new team. There has to be a sufficient number of games for a new philosophy or work ethics to be introduced. With only 5-6 T20s left before T20 World Cup next year then I am not in favour of changing captaincy,” said Chopra.

Kohli hasn’t done anything wrong as India skipper in T20Is: Chopra

Things then got heated up as Gambhir questioned if players can be picked on the grounds of their IPL performances then why can’t a captain be selected on the same criteria.

“When we choose players for international cricket on the basis of IPL, then why can’t we pick a T20I captain for India on the grounds of IPL performance? And if that’s not the case, then IPL should not be used as a parameter to select players for India. Why pick players from IPL then?” asked Gambhir.

Chopra again retorted to Gambhir’s statement. He said that if some players haven’t done well for their respective franchises in IPL but have performed well in the national team, then it’s completely fine. Chopra further backed Kohli by claiming that the 32-year-old hasn’t done anything wrong as India skipper in the shortest format.

“International performances will be considered when looking for international pedigree, and IPL performances will be kept in isolation. If some players have done well for India and have a bad IPL, it’s fine. Virat Kohli as India captain in T20s has done nothing wrong so far,” added Chopra.

The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain then listed out some names of cricketers who were picked in India T20 squad based on IPL and remained on his point of picking captains by following the same principle.

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AKSHAT GAUR
Akshat is the Sr. Content Strategist at CricketTimes.com. With a passion for storytelling and a keen eye for detail, Akshat has honed his skills over 6 years, working with various media outlets, publications, and organizations to deliver high-quality content that informs, educates, and entertains audiences. He is just another cricket fan who’s grown up watching the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. Cricket runs in his veins. Cover drive is his favorite sight, and a ball meeting the middle of the bat is his favorite sound. You can write to him at akshat.gaur@crickettimes.com and follow him on Twitter, Facebook & Linkedin.