Virat Kohli’s pressing task as the new Test skipper is to arrest India’s woeful away record, starting with tomorrow’s final Test against Australia in Sydney.
Kohli assumed the mantle as India’s new captain following the sudden Test retirement of Mahendra Singh Dhoni after last week’s
India have already lost the Border- Gavaskar Trophy with Australia holding an unassailable 2-0 lead heading into the fourth Test,
but there is much interest in how Kohli’s volatility will impact on the team’s fortunes.
India have won only one of their last 22 Tests overseas and have been successful in only one of their 10 Tests at the Sydney Cricket Ground, that sole victory coming 37 years ago.
Despite being tagged as a firebrand and “spoilt brat”, Kohli has been long viewed as the natural successor to Dhoni, who was the most successful Test match skipper in India’s history, winning 27 of the 60 Tests he led with 18 losses and 15 draws.
Now that Dhoni has moved on, India’s immediate Test future lies in Kohli’s hands and it will be a fascinating sub-plot to this week’s Sydney Test.
Australia will be weakened by the loss of ICC Cricketer of the Year and pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson with hamstring trouble, opening the way for Kohli and his other in-form team-mates Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane to get among the runs again.
All are averaging above 58 in this series, with Kohli matching his Australian counterpart Steve Smith with three centuries, and only brittle tail-end batting has been the key difference between the two sides.
Speaking of Kohli’s aggressive outlook, team director Ravi Shastri said: “What is wrong with that aggressive attitude? If he was only talking on the field and had scored five runs in three Tests, I would have had a word with him. But he is one short of 500 runs in this series.
"So obviously, he is doing something right and it is working wonders for him and the team.
“He is an aggressive cricketer and he loves this attitude on the field and it brings out the best in him.
"Sir Vivian Richards, who is in Melbourne has praised his attitude. The whole of Australia is admiring the way he is playing, because for a long time they haven’t seen anyone who plays such brand of cricket, against them, in their own country,” Shastri
told the Press Trust of India.
“Of course Virat is only a young man, a young captain now, he will learn gradually with time as well. He will mature into an even better cricketer and that is only good for the team as a whole.”
Kohli previously skippered India for the first time in the first Test in Adelaide when Dhoni was recovering from a fractured thumb.
Meanwhile, Australia’s vice-captain Brad Haddin said there might be some pointers from the Adelaide Test as to how Kohli will handle things at the SCG.
“I think what happened in Adelaide was we won the big moments,” Haddin said.
“It was a good game and there were some outstanding performances from Kohli and a few of the Indian batsmen.”
The Sydney Test will also be played against the poignant backdrop of the Phillip Hughes tragedy.
Test batsman Hughes was fatally struck by a short-pitched ball in a domestic game at the SCG in late November and several of his close cricketing friends on the field that fateful day will be returning to the scene during this week’s Test. A number of tributes to Hughes are planned in the Test.
Meanwhile, Suresh Raina seems likely to make it to the Test team after Lokesh Rahul’s poor debut at Melbourne. The left-handed batsman has a lot of international experience under his belt and also offers a good off-spin option to the captain.
Wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha has discomfort in his right thumb but should make it to the playing side. As far as the pacers are concerned, Varun Aaron should replace the erratic Mohammad Shami.
The Australians on the other hand will be preparing for what should be 37-year-old opener Chris Rogers’ last Test on home soil.
