Virat Kohli's Test Captaincy
Soon after the third Test against South Africa ended in Cape Town on Friday, Virat Kohli walked up to his teammates and informed them it had been his last as captain. And on Saturday evening, he took to social media and made it official.
Captaining India is a high-pressure job - where a leader is under constant scrutiny after a defeat or even after a series win - and after a point of time, it does take a toll on a player's psyche. In the past, there have been several instances of legends giving up the role to focus on their game - Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid being the ideal examples.
“Being a player and a captain, you set your standards so high that you don’t want to compromise on that. The moment you see there is a chance of compromising, you don’t like it. It is human nature. It has happened over the years and when you see that the set standard is not being met, that’s when you tend to take such decisions.
“One of the possible reasons could be when the amount of required support from the other players is not as much as compared to you. Even that can force you to make a decision. You set the standard so high and give 110 percent for the country as a player, and maybe, some of them are not. As a captain, you might feel that if I can do it, why can’t they? The fact remains that everyone is not Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli. So, concessions have to be given, but maybe, you don’t realize it at that time and feel frustrated.
The aura around Kohli's captaincy, in truth, was much larger than the actual scope of his role, and this was simply a reflection of how aggressively personality-driven cricket's marketing and packaging has become. Even Sachin Tendulkar didn't have a dedicated camera following his every movement to ensure that the producer could bring you every pump of his fist and every raise of his eyebrow. And as the camera sought Kohli out, Kohli played up to it, a symbiotic relationship that filled our screens with frenzied send-offs, fingers on lips to quieten the opposition's fans, and hands cupped around ears to raise the volume of India's fans.
As a test captain, Virat is the only Indian captain to have a more than a 50%+ win percentage ratio.
Virat is also the Indian captain with the most overseas test wins. As stats show probably Virat is the best test captain till now.
I believe that head coach Dravid should have a discussion with the selection panel regarding the appointment of the future leader. “As selectors, we always thought a captain should be someone who is respected by everyone - be it senior or junior. Most importantly, he should have a permanent place in the team. He commands respect. You have to pick a guy, who has that respect. Rahul would be the best person to suggest a name who could motivate a team and take them forward. Captaincy is not an easy job, you need to have a temperament for the job like Dhoni, and Rahul being around, he should suggest a name and then the selectors and can decide accordingly.”
With Kohli stepping down, the Board now faces the challenging task of picking a new skipper for the home series against Sri Lanka.
