Virat Kohli: A captain who loves to keep things flexible
Captaincy is very often an extension of the personality of an individual. Virat Kohli is no different. As a person, he is excitable, emotional and very expressive. He does not care about public opinions and does what he thinks is the best way forward. This approach might not be very popular, but for the man it is effective. Thus when Kohli was given the mantle of the Indian Test team, there were speculations that he will infuse a sense of excitement into the Test outfit. And he has not disappointed.
In his short stint so far, the skipper has shown that he is not afraid to go according to his instincts and brings in the changes quite quickly, and even if his calls have not been very popular, he has ensured that the game does not drift if he is in charge of proceedings. He has an aggressive approach to things, and ever since he has stepped in as the captain, the Delhi lad has advocated a five-bowler theory in Test matches, which is a testament to his result-oriented mindset.
However, not everything is stoic as far as Kohli is concerned and for the connoisseurs of the game, his approach is a bit too flexible for Test matches. After all, Test cricket demands patience and grit, virtues which are not the best mates of Kohli. The recently concluded Test series against West Indies gave everyone a clear picture of Virat Kohli, the captain. Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of the captaincy, it is only fair we take a look at the team composition of the number 1 Test teams over the years as it will give us a better insight into the thought process of Kohli.
Under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India became the number 1 Test team in 2009. It capped very fruitful few years for the team. In Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, the team had two openers on top of their game. At number 3 walked in Rahul Dravid, followed by Sachin Tendulkar at number 4. VVS Laxman followed them, and then Dhoni and Yuvraj rounded off the batting order. There was a fixed process, and everyone in the team was well aware of their roles and positions and hence they flourished for the team.
And then when England and subsequently South Africa were the proud holders of the Test mace, their approach was similar. A fixed batting order and every player was given a fairly long rope to express themselves. Not for nothing is a process put in place. Results invariably follow a process, and over the years there have been so many instances wherein the Teams have adopted an approach which many would deem 'boring', and have got results.
Now let us zip to the current Indian Test team under Virat Kohli. If we take a look at the batting order right from the Sri Lankan series to the current series against the West Indies, we will find that there is no particular order for any batsman, save the openers to some extent. Well, even for the openers, there are speculations that one of them will always face the axe. And then there is no fixed pattern to the batsmen following the openers. While the team management has gone on record saying that this is a horses for courses approach, it defies all the approach taken by successful teams over the years.
The selection enigma
And then the selection process too has followed a very enigmatic route. The captain is not hesitant to change the team if he believes that the players are not in sync with his brand of cricket. The treatment meted out to Cheteshwar Pujara and Amit Mishra is one prominent example of this approach. Pujara is an old-school Test cricketer who likes to dig in and earn his runs, an approach which falls by the wayside as far as Kohli is concerned. His 'aggressive' brand of cricket demands the game to move at a certain pace, and when Pujara was not able to push the scoring rate, he decided to promote himself at number 3. Now, this move did not yield results, but knowing Kohli he will stick to this philosophy as it fits well with his thought process.
Also, not many captains will tinker with the winning combinations, but then Kohli does not think according to the crowd, and thus he is not averse to making changes to the team irrespective of the results. He looks at the conditions and then decides his combination, well not many can argue with his way because it has yielded results so far.
Are we witnessing a new form of captaincy even in Test cricket, when everything is flexible and players will have to be on their toes, and these players will have to adapt to all situations in order to forge a career?
It certainly seems to be the way in the Indian team. While everything is looking hunky-dory as far as results are concerned, the numbers which are being churned out by the batsmen are not very promising. Many could argue that this is because of the fact that their roles are not defined and this then reflects in their batting. Kohli, however, believes that the Team is rallying behind him and that all decisions are made only when every one of the Team members is on board.
"The batsmen decided to take up the responsibility. As captain, I would never ask the players to do what I cannot do myself first", Kohli said on playing five bowlers. There will be pros and cons behind any decision, but what is positive is the clarity in thought, and this then bodes well for the future.
The brash young Kohli has certainly come a long away and now there is a method to his madness.