Virat Kohli Should Lead India in Tests and ODIs: Ian Chappell

The Indian team were on a high post their Test series win over Sri Lanka about a month ago and they were looking to continue the same momentum against the visiting South Africans.

But, the 2-0 series loss in the three-match Twenty20 series against South Africa has given India a rude shock. The only saving grace being that the Eden Gardens game was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

That's been the story for limited-overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and former players are already gunning for his head by saying that time has come for Dhoni to step down and let Virat Kohli take over the reins of ODIs as well.

Former Australian skipper Ian Chappell believes that Kohli should be made skipper for both Tests and ODIs

"Captaincy is fairly similar between Test cricket and 50-over cricket. So I would have thought, it would have been in Kohli's best interest and India's best interest... If you want to keep playing Dhoni in one-day cricket, fine, I don't have a problem with that. But I really think Kohli should be captain of both Test and One-day cricket," Chappell said in an interview to ESPNcricinfo.

"The only way to get better as a captain is to do the job... and you will make some mistakes more, everyone makes them. But that's the way one progresses. You learn from your mistakes than you do from your success as a captain."

"So there is an argument that if you are going to make Kohli the captain in the longest form of the game, it's not going to hurt having him captaining in the 50-over game," Chappell added.

Former India fast bowler Ajit Agarkar was critical of Dhoni's dipping captaincy form and said urged the selectors should look at Kohli's performance as Test captain by comparison, and take a call on Dhoni's role in the limited overs format after the ongoing South Africa series.

"He (Dhoni) has been a great player for India, but you don't want him to become a liability for the team. And he needs to perform a lot better than he has been. Just because he has done it over the years, doesn't mean it's okay for him to fail," Agarkar said.

Agarkar said that the selectors might have some big decisions to take at the end of the ODI series regarding the future of the Indian team in limited overs cricket.

"The selectors maybe need to look at where the Indian team is heading because Virat Kohli has done well as captain in Test cricket so maybe the selectors need to make that call after this series," he added.

Dhoni, who is India's most successful captain for India across the formats, has been under the pump for a while now. India failed to register a win in the Carlton Mid Odi Tri-Series, involving Australia and England.

They had a good run in the World Cup, reaching the semi-final, before losing to Australia by 95 runs in Sydney. Then in June, Bangladesh humiliated India as they won the three-match series 2-1 where Mustafizur Rahman flummoxed them.

Kohli, who has captained India 17 times in the limited overs, has a track record of 14 wins and three losses. His first stint as captain came during the tri-series in the West Indies, featuring the hosts and Sri Lanka. Dhoni had injured himself during the match and India lost the match by one wicket.

But Kohli's chance to lead on a tour came when India visited Zimbabwe in 2013, where the visitors completed a 5-0 sweep-- their first in an away ODI series.