Virat Kohli's captaincy
Flickr photo by James Cullen shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC 2.0) license.

Can Virat Kohli’s captaincy flourish down under?

Mustafa Ismail·
Test
·1 Comment·

India’s year of travelling will conclude with a trip to Australia – and all eyes will be on Virat Kohli’s captaincy during the series…

Kohli has been captaining India for quite some now, especially in the Test format. However, India’s ascension into an almost invincible team at home hasn’t been enough to save Virat Kohli’s captaincy from criticism over decisions made in recent overseas tours. In South Africa, team selection was at the fore as Ajinkya Rahane was dropped in the first two Tests – only to perform exceptionally well when he was picked in the third match of the series.

The lack of preparation before the tour was also cited as a huge mistake as the Indian players clearly struggled to adjust to the conditions. Just when the team started to adapt, the tour came to a close. Ideally, the team should’ve arrived in South Africa two or three weeks earlier than they did to play some practice games. Virat Kohli, along with head coach Ravi Shastri, had the power to request the board to schedule the tour accordingly – and yet, they did no such thing. It cost the team dearly as all the batsmen, apart from Kohli, were dumbfounded.

In England, selection was an issue again. Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan played the first two Tests and then Vijay was dropped unexpectedly. Karun Nair was not given a chance despite being in the squad, alluding to a lack of consistency in team selection. Ashwin’s selection in the fourth Test was also seen as a huge risk given that he was carrying a niggle. Kohli persisted with Ashwin and the spinner’s injury prevented him from getting the same purchase off the pitch as the opposing bowlers.

The bigger problem in England, however, was an inability to finish off the tail when the opportunity arose. India had England on the ropes with scores as one-sided as 96-6, but were not able to capitalise – and Virat Kohli’s captaincy is partly to blame for this. His field placements were a bit too defensive at times, even when Sam Curran and the rest of the lower-order were batting. Kohli should’ve been more aggressive with his tactics to cripple a potential fight-back from England. And even though it’s ultimately the bowlers’ job to take wickets, they can always be aided by smart decisions by their captain.

Admittedly, Virat Kohli was unlucky with the tosses on both of the aforementioned tours. If he had called right on more occasions, the results may well have turned out differently. In Australia, he’ll be hoping to have more luck on that front – but more than that, he needs to set his ego aside and learn from his mistakes if he’s to lead India to victory. Despite the scorelines in England and South Africa, we shouldn’t forget that practically every match was very competitive and India often found themselves in winning positions. They just need to clinch key moments in the game, especially when the circumstances favour them. Holding on to the initiative and finishing off the opposition can make all the difference in such scenarios.

The bowlers might not get as much assistance in Australia as they did in South Africa or England, which means Kohli needs to be smart with his bowling changes. The Indian captain should have a proper plan in place for all the Australian batsmen – including the tail. On the other hand, the batsmen might enjoy the conditions in Australia if they can get themselves off to a good start. If they fail to, their confidence will take another hit akin to what we’ve seen lately. India’s star man will be desperate to win the series and there’s no doubt that he’ll be pumped. Nonetheless, another failure for India could lead to more questions over Virat Kohli’s captaincy at an unwelcome time as the 2019 World Cup is fast approaching.