Karachi: Former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed said that Virat Kohli’s decision to step down from T20 captaincy is an indication that his retirement from the shortest format isn’t too far away. Mushtaq further anticipated that Kohli will only focus in IPL. Kohli had captained the men in blue for the final time in T20s during their last match of the World Cup 2021 against Namibia on Monday.
“I think Kohli will soon retire from playing T20 internationals for his country although he will continue in the Indian Premier League. I think he has had his fill of this format,” Mushtaq was quoted as saying to Geo News channel.
Mushtaq, who have also criticized the country’s early exit from the ongoing T20 World Cup feels ‘all is not well’ in the Indian dressing room after Kohli’s decision to step down as skipper of the shortest format. He claimed that the Indian dressing room is divided into two groups.
“When a successful captain says he wants to leave the captaincy, it means all is not well in the dressing room. I see two groups in the Indian dressing room right now-the Mumbai and Delhi groups,” he said.
India failed to qualify for the semi-finals of any ICC event for the first time since 2012, after losing to Pakistan and New Zealand. It was their first-ever defeat against the arch-rivals Pakistan in the ICC World Cup tournaments, causing great disappointment to Indian cricket fans and critics.
Calling fatigue a crucial reason, the former cricketer blamed the bio-bubble life is responsible for India’s early exit at the T20 World Cup. “I think India flopped in the World Cup because of the IPL. I think their players after remaining for so long in a biosecure bubble before the World Cup were jaded and tired,” he explained.
