Fan asked- Should Kohli give up captaincy in all formats; Sehwag replied

Cricket Desk: Virat Kohli played his last T20I as captain on Monday against Namibia, and former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag opined on whether he should continue in a leadership role in the other two formats - Test and ODIs.

Virat Kohli's tenure as captain of the Indian T20I side came to an end on Monday, with the side bowing out in the Super 12 stage of the 2021 T20 World Cup. Kohli had announced ahead of the tournament that he would be stepping down from his post as the Indian captain in the shortest format.

Following India's disastrous start in the World Cup with heavy defeats to arch-rivals Pakistan and New Zealand, there were speculations over Kohli's future as the captain in the other two formats as well. However, former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag believes that the 33-year-old has been "brilliant" as captain and shouldn't leave the leadership role in ODIs and Tests.

"This is Virat's decision but I don't think he should leave the rest two format's captaincy. If he wants to play just as a player, it is his decision. I feel under his captaincy, India is playing good and his record as a captain is brilliant," said Sehwag on his official Facebook page, reacting to a fan's question on whether Kohli's should step down as skipper altogether.

"He is a good player, an aggressive captain and leads from the front. I reiterate that leaving or not leaving captaincy in ODIs and Tests should be his personal decision," Sehwag further said.

However, the former opening batter insisted that there needs to be introspection over the side's poor outing in ICC tournaments. Since the 2013 Champions Trophy victory under Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy, India are yet to win an ICC title.

“I know we should support the team during bad times but it’s been a long time we haven’t won any major ICC tournament. India should definitely introspect on it. Winning bilateral series is one thing but people only remember you if you win world tournaments consistently,” Sehwag said.

Team India will return to action on November 17 when the side takes on New Zealand in a three-match T20I series.