One era ends and another begins. When Virat Kohli walks out for the toss at the SCG here on January 6, it will mark a generational change in Indian cricket.
Kohli represents the new breed of Indian cricketers – aggressive, often brash, and competitive.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly said to this writer on the on-field showdowns and the fiery off-the-field remarks in the on-going series, “It’s the new generation.” He then smiled.
The 26-year-old Kohli’s belief in his ability is enormous. He looks the opposition in the eye, is undaunted by reputations.
But then Test captaincy, in a full-fledged role, can be mentally and physically demanding since you are carrying your players with you. It is a position of responsibility.
Even as the Indian team caught the morning flight from Melbourne to Sydney, Kohli would have felt the weight of expectations.
It is very likely too that M.S. Dhoni, who continues to stay with the team, would spend some time with Kohli just to put the youngster at ease.
It would have been better though had Dhoni made the announcement of his plans to retire ahead of the series.
The selectors and the team-management – Cricket Director Ravi Shastri is a part of it – would have had more time to prepare Kohli for the role.
A scenario where the team learns about such a major decision only after its skipper puts down his gloves and unties his pads in the dressing room at the end of day five is not ideal.
A team looks forward to its captain at all times. He builds bridges with the players, comprehends their cricket and emotions and identifies their role.
Team needs time When a long-term captain departs, he leaves behind cricketers who trusted him. And these players might now be feeling the sort of emptiness that could adversely impact their cricket.
When a change of such proportions takes place, cricketers in a team too need to be given time.
Sadly, Dhoni’s snap decision opens the sort of questions he would have wanted to avoid. Even if fitness was the sole reason for his drastic step, he has left himself vulnerable to several speculations including that of a rift in the team.
Was he not getting the men he wanted in team selection meetings? These talks might be false but, given the nature of Dhoni’s shock exit, they would do the rounds.
Kohli takes over in prime batting form. It is important for a captain to perform because that in itself earns him some respect from the team.
This exceptional right-handed batsman has 499 runs in the series at 83.16. And the quality of Kohli’s three hundreds had even the Aussies applauding.
He is an aggressive batsman, but then dishing out attacking cricket is very different from getting involved in on-field spats.
And then keep going on and on about them in press conferences. It takes the focus away from the compelling cricket that has been played.
Without losing that mercurial streak in him, Kohli has to mature and move to the next level. As India captain, he has to be more careful and measured with his words.
Shastri has spoken about the fearlessness of the Indian team. He has lauded the side’s mind-set too.
It is true that the audacious counter-attack by Kohli and Rahane actually might have actually put some fear in the Aussies.
Perhaps, that onslaught was behind Australia delaying its declaration on the final day, enabling India to wriggle away with a draw.
But then, playing hard has to be viewed differently from getting worked up on the field of play for reasons that do not appear very serious.
As skipper and someone whose behaviour could influence the rest of the team, Kohli has to rein in his verbal aggression.
