As the country was flying kites high in the sky on the occasion of Sankranti on Saturday evening, news of the grounding of the colorful and successful kite of Indian cricket Test captain Virat Kohli came.
The news of Kohli stepping down as Test captain through his own tweet came as a shock to the cricket fraternity and the sequence of announcing his resignation as T20 captain late last year and stripped of the ODI reins from him. Followed when the Board of Control for Cricket in India stripped him of the ODI reins. In India (BCCI) Rohit Sharma was announced as the ODI captain for the tour of South Africa, which eventually went to KL Rahul as the holder of three double centuries in the 50-over format did not recover in time for the ODIs in Rainbow. Get it The country is starting from January 19.
While the cricket fraternity was still searching for answers as to what would have prompted Kohli to take this decision, most did not see it, while few can claim that it is to be expected after the 1-2 Test series loss. Is. South Africa.
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Perhaps Kohli – the most successful Indian Test captain, having won 40 in Cape Town the day before yesterday from 2014 Adelaide and captained the country in most Tests, 68 – did not want to be sacked as captain by the BCCI. Perhaps he did not want to fall into the situation in which great England all-rounder Ian Botham found himself in the 1981 Ashes Test in his country. Botham relinquished Test captaincy after the second Test at Lord’s as form left him and victory was not coming.
Botham wrote in his book, ‘The Incredible Tests, the Inside Story of England’s Greatest Test Series’: “I immediately said the words (‘I have resigned as captain of England’) to give me a new man. Felt. For the first time in a month I felt completely relaxed. I was at peace with the world again.”
It was a series in which Botham was appointed Test captain, not for the entire series, but match by match, and was on trial. This was the series in which, after relinquishing his captaincy, England won the Ashes through their heroics, including the famous Headingley Test, known as the Botham Test. As Botham writes in that book, “…in my opinion, Alec (Bedser, then-chairman of selectors) announced a perfectly cordial parting by announcing ‘we were going to sack him anyway’.” poorly made.”
Kohli, however, who was named Test captain for as long as he wanted, unlike Botham and England, may have felt at peace with the world again after posting his lengthy tweet at 6.44 pm on Saturday And maybe he didn’t want BCCI to take it away. from them through the selectors. The disappointment of not winning a Test series in South Africa in two attempts (2017-18 and 2021-22) as captain and the personal appearance of not scoring a Test century, cluttered his mind for a long time and made up his mind. for him to make this decision.
But, one positive thing for India is that Kohli will now be a player without the weight of expectations to lead India to this victory. As Botham did in the English summer 41 years ago, Kohli can only raise to his already high standards and play as a senior supporter and guide the youngsters and new Test captain with his experience and expertise. can.
Former chairman of selectors MSK Prasad was “shocked” at Kohli stepping down from the captaincy. “I still can’t digest the fact that he has resigned from the Test captaincy. I am still looking into the reasons for his stepping down as Test captain. I felt he still had a lot to offer as a captain and a player in Tests,” Prasad told news18.com from Hyderabad.
Another former chairman of selectors and former India wicketkeeper, Kiran More, was disappointed with Kohli’s sudden decision to step down from Test captaincy.
“The way he left is a bit sad,” More told this website after returning home after flying kites with his friends and relatives in Baroda. “The way people have treated him, and I am not talking about BCCI, and criticizing him was not fair. He has played a lot of cricket, he has done well for India. The way he played any format of cricket, he had that quality. He always showed the character he wanted to win. We must not forget that he is a World Cup winner (2011). He has scored 70 international hundreds and is a special player. I was disappointed with the way people were talking about him and the way his captaincy was criticized. For me he is legend. Performance wise, we can’t touch that. I am not worried about him leaving the T20 or ODI captaincy. He is part of life. The way people were criticizing him was not good.”
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More felt that it was now on head coach Rahul Dravid and the selectors to reorganize the Indian Test team under a new captain. “It always happens. People have to come together and regroup. It is the job of Rahul Dravid and the selectors. They are mature cricketers. It is not going to be easy and the Indian team will take time to recover. Test cricket Not easy, no matter what. You play Test cricket with your heart. It has to perform. Kohli’s 79 and 29 in Cape Town were equal to 150 on a difficult pitch.
On what lies ahead for Kohli, More said: “Leaving captaincy is not easy. He was the captain in all three formats. He would have definitely decided to focus on his batting and win matches for the country. He has always played independently, scoring 70 international hundreds. There comes a time in every captain’s life to move on. Every captain feels it and maybe now he has felt it too.”
More’s Indian teammate and fellow wicketkeeper, who is now a successful coach in the domestic circuit, Chandrakant Pandit was a bit surprised by Kohli’s decision.
“It’s a bit surprising. I don’t know the reasons,” said Pandit, contemplating his room in Indore, where Madhya Pradesh is planning to have the state team as its head coach.
“He has always been behind the success of the Indian team. Some similar players of the past like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, all of them have given a lot of success to Team India. He has continued it. I have always loved watching him for his aggression as a player and as a captain. I always like to have someone to inspire my players, who leads from the front and that has always been the attitude of Kohli. I am surprised that he took this decision so quickly.
Pandit hoped that Kohli would not give up the Test captaincy as India lost the Test series in South Africa. He added: “It shouldn’t be the reason because wins and losses are part of the game. He is like an engine on the field. He is also a role model on the field to motivate the team. He could have gone a year or two more (as captain). He has got tremendous fitness. Performances go up and down and it doesn’t mean that one gives up captaincy, especially of one’s caliber.”
While Pandit agreed that while the captaincy burden would fall on his shoulders, it would make a difference to Kohli, he said: “He is not a pressure taker. He has always put pressure on others when he is batting or leading the team. This always helps the youth of the team. He is not one of those people who does well without just the pressure of captaincy. In fact, he likes the challenges of captaincy. He will continue to guide the youngsters in his team like Tendulkar and Dhoni had guided young captains in their days. I hope whoever is the new captain, he will continue with the same aggression as Kohli. Indian team needs this kind of aggression. There is tremendous talent in the Indian team. He just needs the fire that we have always seen in Kohli. We talk about moving ahead with the pace of the batsmen. This Indian team needs to follow the rhythm of Kohli’s captaincy.”
Former India all-rounder and selector Madan Lal agreed with Pandit’s view that Kohli’s decision should not have been influenced by his lack of success in the Test series in South Africa, and that he wanted to see him in Test form for a year or two. Were. Captain.
Lal said: “What next? He will continue to play and perform for the country. The game is just about performance, nothing more. You have to keep performing and keep playing. At the end of the day, it’s the performance that matters.
“Kohli has done a great job as a captain. I wanted to see him as Test captain for a year or two. I like his aggressive nature. People talk about Indians not being aggressive and here we have a captain who is aggressive, who wanted to win everything. He is a frontline performer. People say that he has not scored a century for more than two years. But, he has scored runs. Everything is not just about hundreds but about performing and winning for the country. His contribution is immense. I love his captaincy for his aggression, whatever decision he has taken is very positive.”
Lal, a medium pacer in his days and an important member of the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian team, admitted that Kohli likes to pack his team with fast bowlers.
“Another thing I liked about Kohli’s captaincy was that he recognized the importance of fast bowlers. When he took over, he knew he needed four to five fast bowlers who could win Test matches for the country.
Lal insisted that in South Africa, the team was disappointed not by the bowlers but by the batsmen. “In South Africa, the Indian batting failed, not the bowling department. Kohli has always encouraged the fast bowlers and has won many matches with them. When you have a world-class fast bowler and a world-class spinner, you always win a few more games than anyone else,” said the 70-year-old Lal.
Lal felt that the talk of Kohli not winning the ICC trophy must have angered Kohli. “Perhaps, he was annoyed at being dismissed as the captain of the 50 overs. He was clear that he would give up the 20-over captaincy but not the 50-over and Test captaincy. Maybe there was a lack of communication with the selectors, I don’t know. I don’t agree that it has to do with India not being able to win the ICC trophy. I know every captain wants to lift the ICC trophy but you are building the team and winning matches for the country. As a Test team, that is where class is recognized,” Lal said.
Lal said that the relinquishing of the captaincy might give Kohli some rest, but “the pressure will always be there. You are free from pressure only when you score runs. He has set high standards for himself and has to maintain them. That would be the pressure on him.”
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