NEWS
Follow UsFormer England captain Kevin Pietersen feels India should appoint Rohit Sharma as their new Test skipper. Virat Kohli stepped down as captain of India's Test team last week and the likes of Rohit, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are the top contenders to become Kohli’s successor.
"I like Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, you are spoilt for choice. Rishabh Pant not yet, may be in one day (cricket) yes. Sharma and Rahul are very fine cricketers. I like Hitman (Rohit Sharma), I love watching his cricket. He has done well for Mumbai Indians and he is next in line," Pietersen was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
The English batsman-turned-commentator, who is set to play for World Giants in the Legends Cricket League, feels that staying in a bio-bubble constantly was one of the reasons why Kohli stepped away from captaincy.
"Virat Kohli is a kind of guy, who in current circumstances, it’s very difficult for his personality to perform. I have friends in all sports, some are the best in the world and they all say that it is very difficult to play in the conditions that people have been playing since the last two years.
"I am actually not surprised that Virat just wants a little break from that extra pressure because it’s damn difficult playing under a bubble. Kohli needs crowds. Kohli gets his juices going because he is an entertainer. So people who are critical of modern day sportsmen, I think are foolish because it’s hard to play in a bio-bubble."
The 41-year-old also said that it’s stupid to blame the Indian Premier League for England’s horrible performance in the Ashes.
“It’s stupid. You can’t blame the IPL for the decline for Test cricket in England. It’s the county cricket system which is poor. If you look at the England team, maybe (Ben) Stokes, (Jonny) Bairstow, (Jos) Buttler (play in IPL), none of the England players play in IPL. Hardly any of the Test team players play the IPL... So how can you blame the IPL? You can't blame the IPL. It's crazy”
Off-the-field, the English cricketers were also mired in a controversy after a report claimed that there was a "drinking culture" in the team with the players and coaches drinking late into the night before police broke up the session.
Pietersen said there was no harm in it as the players are affected by the strict bio-bubble restrictions. "It's stressful. It's incredibly stressful. I've never played in a bubble. I can't imagine but I think it must be very lonely.
"You're not allowed to go to coffee shops. You're not allowed to go down to the restaurants, you're not allowed to do anything. And what else do you do? So I'm sure that the guys must have tried to find some sort of social activities in whichever way that they deem fit."