India, Nov. 13 -- India's spin all-rounder and Delhi Capitals skipper Axar Patel opened up against what he described as a misplaced obsession with English-speaking skills and outward "personality" traits when it comes to choosing cricket captains.

In an interaction with The Indian Express ahead of India's first Test against South Africa, Axar questioned the long-held perception that only players fluent in English or those with a certain body language are seen as "captaincy material."

"People start saying 'oh he is not a captaincy material, he doesn't speak English. How will he talk? Yeh hai, voh hai'. Arre! Captain's work is not to just talk," Axar said. "Captain's work is to know the player and see how to get the best out of him - what...