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Former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist on Monday offered his support behind Virat Kohli following India's heart-wrenching defeat against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final, saying that the Indian captain, whose transition has been excellent in the recent years, should not be judged on the basis of performance in just one game.
Gilchrist — the Australia's education ambassador to India — is in the national capital to attend a friendly cricket match.
When quizzed had Mahendra Singh Dhoni been the captain of the current Indian side then the situation would have been quite different, Gilchrist said that the issue of who should lead India had ended a long time ago.
Although Gilchrist admitted that Dhoni is an inspirational leader, he believes that Kohli's tournament was brilliant and that he is the right man to lead the side.
"MS Dhoni was a wonderful captain. He is an inspirational leader. But I think Virat's transition has been excellent. You should not judge him on one game. His tournament was brilliant," Gilchrist told the reporters.
"He had some really difficult times in England previously. So he had proved that he can play over there. He strikes me as an amazing young man who loves and cherishes and relishes all the responsibilities. So I think he is [the] right man to be leading the team," he added.
The former wicketkeeper-batsman, however, called on the Men in Blue to learn from the defeat and use it as manufacturing mode for the next match.
Pakistan delivered a splendid all-round performance against India, winning the finals by massive 180 runs at the Kennington Oval to lift their maiden Champions Trophy title.
Chasing a challenging total of 339 runs, India was bowled out for 158 runs in 33.3 overs.
The former Australian cricketer admitted that the result came as a big surprise, but as it is said that Pakistan are unpredictable and they had proved the same on Sunday.
"It was a big surprise to see the result, but Pakistan is unpredictable. India had a fantastic tournament. But it was quite disappointing not to win the most important game of the tournament, in the finals. That is the limited-overs cricket. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day. And this tournament proved the same," he said.
India will now tour West Indies for a five-match ODI series, followed by a lone T20I.
