IPL 2021: "Passion and energy not enough to win trophies, Virat Kohli was never the best tactician" - Gautam Gambhir

On what was most likely the final day of Virat Kohli's captaincy career with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), former India opener Gautam Gambhir looked back at his eight years of leadership with a critical eye.

Gautam Gambhir said Virat Kohli always lacked the tactical nous and shrewdness to win tournaments like the IPL. Gambhir remarked that only "passion and energy" aren't enough to win trophies and instead, a captain has to always be a few steps ahead of the match.

Gautam Gambhir's comments came in an interaction with ESPNcricinfo. He spoke after former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, who criticized Virat Kohli on some aspects but had praised him for his on-field vigor. Gambhir said:

"He's got a long, long run. Eight years is a very long time. And yes Sanjay spoke about his passion and stuff but probably he was never the best tactician or never had the shrewdeness a captain requires on a cricket field. You have got to be instinctive and ahead of the game. Yes, you would see the passion and energy but that's not enough to win you trophies. You got to be a good tactician as well [who knows] when to do what.

"You have to got to be one or two overs ahead of the game rather than probably just going along with the game. That's what the best T20 captains have always done... He's captained India for a very long time, he's captained India in all three formats so I am sure that from the tactician and shrewdness point of view, he was not right up there..."

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Meanwhile, Manjrekar noted that RCB had some issues which were only worsened by some of the calls that Virat Kohli took. Citing the example of KS Bharat's multiple position shifts in the batting order, he said the RCB skipper should have taken a cue from MS Dhoni, who makes the most of what he has.

Manjrekar said:

"Virat Kohli's selections, let me take the example of Bharat, who he introduced at No. 3 and played a couple of terrific innings at a very good strike rate. And come the third game he (Virat Kohli) dropped him (Bharat) down to No. 7 and got [Dan] Christian, who hadn't got a run and was down on confidence, to bat at No. 3 in two games... So when you have a team with a few issues, you got to be like Dhoni, a sharp captain who makes the most of what you have and I don't think Virat is that kind of a guy..."

Overall, Virat Kohli led RCB in 140 matches across eight years. He won 66 of those and lost 70, including the four-wicket defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday. Under the 32-year-old, RCB reached the playoffs thrice, with their best performance coming in 2016 when they ended the season as runners-up.

"AB de Villiers is someone who would give you nightmares" - Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir also paid a small tribute to AB de Villiers, who might also have played his last season with the RCB. The former KKR captain called De Villiers a "genius" who would give bowlers "nightmares" and labeled him the toughest opponent he ever played against.

Gambhir concluded:

"Genius, that's one word. And I would absolutely say that [he is] probably the toughest opponent I have played against. Though I have never really planned against anyone except Rohit Sharma but yes, he was probably someone who would give you nightmares because whoever I have spoken to, some of the bowlers, they have always felt that AB de Villiers was the probably toughest the bowl to... But as a batsman, as a genius, you want those trophies because that's what you play for in a teamsport."

While De Villiers' fate with the RCB is yet to be decided, Virat Kohli will now move on to the T20 World Cup, which will also be his final stint as a T20 international captain.