Michael Hussey believes that filling MS Dhoni’s shoes is a challenge for Virat Kohli
What’s the story?
Michael Hussey, over the course of his illustrious career, had been an insightful reader of the game, which showed in the brand of cricket he displayed on the field. In a recent interview with Cricbuzz, the former Australian batsman, voiced his views on Virat Kohli’s leadership role.
“I have always enjoyed Kohli's captaincy. He has got this great will to win and I can see parallels of Ricky Ponting's captaincy in Kohli. Ponting was always hungry for success and would keep pushing his team. MS Dhoni was a wonderful captain and it was always going to be a challenge for Kohli to fill Dhoni's big shoes. But the good thing about Virat is he didn't want to follow Dhoni's methods. He has been his own man and led the side in his own way. He has been true to his own personality,” the Aussie batsman said
He also sounded confident about the current bunch of Indian cricketers and their co-ordination with their skipper. “India have been through the period of transition. But now, the team is a settled unit. These are exciting times for Indian cricket. The players believe in their captain and everyone has the same approach. Obviously, there will be challenges along the way and not only the captain but the players will also be tested," the former Chennai Super Kings batsman added.
In case you didn’t know…
Michael Hussey was a prolific run-scorer for Australia and often steered the Kangaroos to victories from difficult situations. The attribute earned him the tag of Mr. Cricket and rightly so, factoring in the skills of the Western Australian cricketer.
The details
In his interaction with the media, Hussey also said that MS Dhoni should retire from the game on his own terms. According to him, the former Indian skipper knows his game and body well and should take a call as per that.
What’s next?
Virat Kohli is currently leading the Indian Test team in their overseas Test series against Sri Lanka, which they have already won by a margin of 2-0. The Men in Blue will play a 5-match ODI series and a one-off T20 game after the end of the third Test.
Author’s take
Virat Kohli has been exceptional, to say the least, when it comes to shouldering the leadership mantle in the sub-continent games. The success has rubbed off on his batting too as he has mustered runs at will in the most challenging version of the game.
In limited overs cricket, Kohli hasn’t disappointed either as he has won games for India on a consistent basis. However, in challenging conditions like that of South Africa, Australia and England, Kohli is yet to be tested.
India will be touring South Africa during January next year and it will be interesting to find out how Kohli shapes up with his tactics in trying conditions