Published: Jun 13, 2015, 10:40 AM (IST)
Edited: Jun 14, 2015, 09:40 AM (IST)
Virat Kohli captained in a couple of Tests in Australia and once MS Dhoni retired from Tests mid-way through the Test series, Kohli is now the full time Test captain of India. He’s approach has often been criticised for being too aggressive at times and Nikhil Popat feels his captaincy tenure has signaled changes, which might not be ideal for India going ahead.
It was being reported that there was some unrest between the team in Australia. The seniors in the team rubbished it and rightly so. But there was unrest probably in the way the team management was going about things. Ravichandran Ashwin did not play the first Test but played the next three. Karn Sharma made his Test debut in the first Test against Australia, for all we know there are better leg spinners in India than Karn and with good numbers to back them. India liked their new captain who played fire with fire, rekindled memories of Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy. India went down fighting and despite a 0-2 loss, things look promising on the field but off the field, but the selection policies do not seem to be in any sync. Read: Ravichandran Ashwin’s litmus Test against Bangladesh
Kohli made an impact on his first full tour as India Test captain, the one-off Test against Bangladesh, he brought back Harbhajan Singh; the man who picked up just six wickets in three games at an average of around 42 in Ranji Trophy 204-15. The selectors say that there were many left-handers in Bangladesh, which warrants him a place in the side The selectors would have probably made the same call when MS Dhoni was the captain, but Dhoni seemed to be happy having Ashwin in the side instead.
The move to bring back Harbhajan after an ordinary domestic was criticised but one can understand that every captain has his choices and they often tend to back them more than expected, the move of picking Harbhajan with the same reason seems very short term. More importantly, it does not send the right signal when a player is picked based on their performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL), completing neglecting other good performances in the domestic circuit.His second call, to drop Cheteshwar Pujara was more than outrageous to say the least. Many experts, including former players wanted him to have a County stint in England to improve his batting He did extremely well for Yorkshire but he does not get a place in the starting XI in the one-off Test. He is dropped to fit Rohit Sharma in the side. The move might assure Rohit of his captain Kohli backing him but it surely dents Pujara’s chances, who will be gutted inside to have missed out on some runs in sub-continent after a tough grind in England and Australia. Read: Cheteshwar Pujara’s omission from one-off Test against Bangladesh is shocking
It is not that Kohli must not back players but he must also keep in mind the long-term aspirations of the team. Dhoni backed Kohli to come good in Australia and he scored his maiden Test ton. Dhoni backed him to come good after the England tour where Kohli averaged just 13.40. Kohli has always been aggressive and he wants to transform that in his captaincy as well. But too much of it is never good.
It is possible that we are reading too much into it. After all, it is just a one-off Test. But, the changes at this moment seems to be a touch unorthodox, which Indian cricket is not accustomed to.
Statistics of players are being ignored and players are being selected by instinct. Dhoni suffered the wrath of having favourite players in his side and with the way Kohli is going, although it might be too early but that too seems to be going the same way. If India wish to do well, they need to pick the best eleven for the job and not the ‘best I-feel-he-will-do-well’ eleven. Kohli wants to win at all costs; he can pick his eleven but all while it works well because when it doesn’t, he will find it difficult to answer people, having already declared that they have learnt enough and now want to win. Read: Harbhajan Singh’s comeback crucial for India’s future
Good luck, Virat! Having said that, be careful as Indian cricket supporters live on extremes and if you don’t give them what you promise them, they are more than happy to switch sides and call for your head, something, you have already experienced after a poor tour of England.
(Nikhil Popat is a diehard cricket enthusiast and a PotterHead till the end of time. He can be followed on Twitter @CricCrazyNIKS)
