3 reasons why India is missing Virat Kohli the Test captain
It was on this day last year that Virat Kohli brought the curtains down on his tenure as India's Test captain. With the visitors having conceded the series by a 2-1 margin against South Africa, he made the decision to stand down from the post the day after the defeat.
He took over from MS Dhoni after the latter retired during the 2014 tour of Australia. What followed was a highly successful reign that saw Kohli reach unprecedented heights as captain.
Apart from overseeing his team at the top of the rankings for years together, he became the first Asian captain to win a series in Australia, while also leading India to the final of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC).
Overall, India won 40 out of the 68 Tests under his leadership, marking a highly-successful tenure.
On the anniversary of him stepping down as Test captain, we look at three reasons as to why the team is missing him at the helm today.
#1 The musical chairs in captaincy following his resignation
With Jasprit Bumrah becoming Indian captain, India is set to have 6 different captains in 2022, which is their highest of any calendar year.
India played 5 captains in 1959.
Rohit Sharma was appointed full-time captain across formats following Kohli stepping down. Yet, frequent cases of injuries to Rohit and his deputy KL Rahul at various junctures saw India field a host of captains in 2022.
While Rohit led against Sri Lanka on home soil, he missed the rescheduled fifth Test in England after testing positive for COVID-19. With Rahul not available due to groin surgery, Jasprit Bumrah donned the captain's hat in Birmingham. Rahul then led against Bangladesh when Rohit was unavailable due to a finger injury.
There has been a lack of clarity over the leadership pecking order as well. While Rishabh Pant deputized for Bumrah in Birmingham, Cheteshwar Pujara was named Rahul's deputy in Bangladesh despite Pant's presence.
Clearly, the transition hasn't been a smooth one and Kohli's assertion as the side's skipper is missing to that end a year after he passed the baton.
#2 India have entered a period of transition in Tests
The great team that Kohli heralded as captain in the longest format had clearly descended from its peak towards the last leg of his tenure. Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were no longer the same force with the bat, while the team moved on from veterans Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha.
A look at India's current batting unit indicates that the ordeal is going to get tougher. Rohit, Pujara, and Kohli are well on the wrong side of their thirties, and Pant's unfortunate injury has only complicated matters even further.
Every great team undergoes a tough period of transition. While India might be in the nascent stages of the same, life may not get too easy going forward. Kohli overseeing the transition as captain could have possibly eased things out, given that he mastered the art of captaincy during his tenure.
#3 His energy is the galvanizer India needs at the moment
#TeamIndia skipper @imVkohli egging the crowd on at Chepauk! #INDvENG https://t.co/pR7ty2JUBz
While the numbers back Kohli's reign as Test captain as a highly successful one, he received accolades aplenty for the manner in which he pushed the team forward. Very rarely did the team's energy drop on the field over the course of five days given that they were always in the skin of the opposition no matter what the situation was.
2022 was a tough year across formats for the Men in Blue. Strictly referring to the longest format, they were in for a scare against Bangladesh in Mirpur before managing to scrape through.
With a high-intensity series against Australia coming up and a spot in the WTC final at stake, time will tell if India can maintain that same level of intensity they used to under Kohli.
His presence will certainly boost the same cause, but his captaincy remains a huge void that hasn't been filled just yet. His energy is just what the team needed at the moment to galvanize them towards higher accolades.
What is your favorite memory of Virat Kohli as Test captain? Let us know in the comments section below!
Also read: 3 takeaways from India's squad for first 2 Tests vs Australia