India vs West Indies 3rd Test: Virat Kohli replacing Cheteshwar Pujara with Rohit Sharma uncalled for

Virat Kohli has the knack of taking everyone aback, usually with his swaggering batsmanship. But in India’s third Test against West Indies, he surprised everyone with his decision-making, replacing Cheteshwar Pujara with Rohit Sharma.

Virat Kohli has the knack of taking everyone aback, usually with his swaggering batsmanship. But in India’s third Test against West Indies, he surprised everyone with his decision-making, some of which made sense and some were ridiculed by cricket fans on Social Media. It was predicted that Cheteshwar Pujara will be dropped from the Playing XI, following his dismal performance. However, no one expected the erratic Rohit Sharma to replace him. On the other hand, Murali Vijay still being unfit added India in further enigma. Given this, the in-form KL Rahul was likely to play at No. 3 position, at which Kohli himself came to bat. Let’s not jump the guns now. Walking through it might help us join the dots. Full Cricket Scorecard: India vs West Indies, 3rd Test match

After winning the toss, West Indies invited India to bat first on a track that had even covering of grass, expecting the ball to move around. As a matter of fact, Kohli had done his homework, and decided to play Bhuvneshwar Kumar instead of Umesh Yadav. The decision seemed fair and square. With Bhuvneshwar’s ability to swing the ball both ways, it will be a tough ask for the home team to block the deliveries.

Another change was the replacement of Amit Mishra with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Again, a much needed one.

All the same, replacing a disciplined batsman (though out of form) such as Pujara with fickle Rohit backfired India. Agreed that Pujara’s poor run of form has been putting India on the back foot, but after assessing the conditions, he clearly had an edge over the Mumbai batsman.

Rohit often seems to be in trouble when the bowl starts doing things. He pokes at the deliveries that seam away, and his forward-defence puts him in trouble when they jab back in.

He played a stunning leg-glance, and opened the face off the bat to guide it to the vacant third-man region. When bowled in his zone, he made sure he made full use of it. But, when bowled in the corridor of uncertainty, he struggled to find his feat. In fact, a number of deliveries beat his outside edge, eventually nicking one to the keeper. Like he did against South Africa’s Dale Steyn, he poked at an away-swinger, failing yet again. Also read: West Indies send India a strong message in 3rd Test

This isn’t the first time Kohli preferred him over Pujara. In a three-match series against Sri Lanka in 2015, Rohit replaced Pujara, batting at No. 3 and failed to provide the impetus that was expected from him.

However, in today’s contest, it was Kohli who played at the most privileged batting position in Test cricket. To his credit, he is a regular No. 3 batsman in shorter formats, and has achieved many heights. However, the dynamics and mechanisms of the formats are different.

At that position, a team needs someone who possesses temperament, resilience and skills to bat in any given condition. And Kohli is armed with these qualities, inarguably. But he isn’t a specialist one-down batsman.

He can take on the bowlers when the ball wears and tears. Starting his Test career batting lower down the order helped him score plethora of runs. With Sachin Tendulkar calling it a day, the burden of batting two-down was put on Kohli’s shoulders. He, in fact, left no stone unturned to make sure he does justice to it, even scoring his maiden double hundred.

With class-apart Ajinkya Rahane at his disposal, he promoted himself at No. 3. His footwork looked immaculate when he faced a few deliveries. But, like Rohit, his chink in the armour was majorly exposed as, he fell prey to a short-pitched delivery, gloving it to the first-slip.

India were 126 for 5 at one stage, staring towards an all-out on Day 1. None of the decisions paid, and none of the top-order batsmen came into their own and applied themselves sensibly.

It was the duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha who displayed grit and added 108 runs for the sixth wicket, ending first day’s play at 234 for 5. Had these two been not in the forefront of a rescue mission, India would have been under fire. Also read: West Indies remain on top against India at stumps despite Ravichandran Ashwin’s gritty fifty in 3rd Test, Day 1

From now on, to win a series, Kohli has to keep his calm and know the need of the hour. These are still his early days in captaincy arena. Thus, it would be safe to say he is still learning the aspects of leadership.

Be that as it may, with a quality team at his disposal, if he does not foresee the outcome of his decisions, in no time he will face a downfall. He has the calibre, panache and wisdom to take India to No. 1 position in Test, but he simply needs to stick to the basics and not take logic-defying decisions.

(Kaustubh S. Mayekar, a reporter at CricketCountry, played cricket at U-16 level. Like his idol Rahul Dravid, he often shadow-practises cricket shots. His Twitter handle is @kaumedy_)

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