Though he has mellowed considerably, every now and then the ‘angry young man’ in Virat Kohli breaks out and last week we saw it once again. Following the Test series win against South Africa, Kohli took pot shots at critics in an interview given to the BCCI’s official website.
Essentially, Kohli’s miff was that those critics – especially some former players – showed an ostensible lack of appreciation of India’s emphatic victory over the No. 1 ranked team in the world.
It’s true that much had been made of the pitches being skewed in favour of the home team, as if this is peculiar only to India. In my opinion, the victory was not only fair and square, it was resounding and a great credit to Indian cricket.
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Taking the entire series in perspective, not just the match at Nagpur where the pitch could have been said to be below par, it was evident that South Africa flopped because they neither had the technique nor the gumption to play on turning tracks.
In any case, accentuating a ‘home advantage’ is not an anomaly in the sport, rather a standard procedure. And ever since Australia’s domination ended about a decade back, Test match results have only confirmed this.
In that sense, Kohli makes a sound argument. But a limited one, for his critics have their own job to do and may see things differently. That comes with the territory of being the captain of the most followed team in the world and must be accepted for what it is.
It can happen at times that some of those judges may be poor surveyors of situations and performances, but that is no different from players who play poorly: in either profession, the better ones survive.
Kohli would do well to take a leaf out of Ravi Shastri’s book on how to use criticism as a catalyst bring improvement. In fact, I am surprised that the team director has not shared his experiences in this respect with him as yet.
Those of my vintage will remember that Shastri was praised and pilloried in equal measure during his playing days. Sensibly, he chose not to be swayed by the accolades, but took the criticism seriously enough to make a point of proving it wrong when given the opportunity.
This must rate as India’s most significant home Test series win ever. Has there been any better? Remember SA are ranked world no.1
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) December 7, 2015
I think beating SA this series better than 4-0 whitewash of Aus in 2013. But 2-1 win over Aus in 2001 could be bigger as many have suggested
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) December 7, 2015
In that series India came from a Test down to win. And Aus were no.1 ranked side too
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) December 7, 2015
Where performance is concerned, Kohli should be aware that his own batting and captaincy, as well as the prowess of his team, cannot be assessed in a narrow groove; by how well India does at home. It must necessarily extend to performances overseas too.
This is where his argument against critics can only have limited value if the team slumps to defeat regularly when playing abroad, as has been the case with India in recent history.
Which brings me to the bigger challenge confronting the Indian captain after the superb win over South Africa: can he use this as a platform to lead India to the No. 1 spot in Test cricket? This is going to be a serious task with several obstacles along the way.
The victory over South Africa has helped India jump to number two in the ICC rankings. However, there is a cluster of teams below South Africa who are vying with India for top honours, with Australia, England and Pakistan all separated by just a handful of ranking points.
But where India has an advantage is in how the side has developed over the past couple of years. Apart from the abundance in talent, there is depth and balance to the side, in both batting and bowling.
Of these two departments, the more crucial is obviously the latter. Unless a side can take 20 wickets regularly, it can’t win Test matches consistently. And India now seem to have the wherewithal to did this.
The spin department looks the more formidable because of the brilliant R Ashwin. His rise to prominence has been spectacular and it is fair to say that he is the best slow bowler in the world today, having honed his skills admirably and eschewed unnecessary experimentation.
Accompanying Ashwin, India has an able leg-spinner in Amit Mishra and a left-armer in Ravindra Jadeja who has added considerably to his control and repertoire after losing his place in the Test side. This is splendid variety to possess in the squad even if all three may play together only occasionally.
Spin, however, has always been India’s forte. It is the current crop of pace bowlers who excite and inspire hope. Ishant, Yadav, Aaron and Shami (who has recovered from injury) are all above fast medium – and all of different types. From swing to seam, to raw speed if necessary, all aspects look to be covered.
Not all the players – batsmen and bowlers – may survive the excruciating demands of international cricket, but if the majority do, then the composition of the side looks extremely well-equipped to take on the best in the world.
But that can only happen if the team has the ambition, imagination and self-belief to excel. That really is the crux for Indian cricket going ahead and that is what should be occupying Kohli’s mindspace above everything else.
Otherwise this grand win over South Africa is just another home win, not the turning point for Indian cricket as he would like to believe.
