HEAT’S ON KOHLI
Victory under Rahane puts Virat in focus
New Delhi, Jan. 20: First things first. There is no imminent threat to Virat Kohli’s captaincy in any format and neither is BCCI even remotely thinking on those lines.
But that’s the news part of the story. When it comes to views, there are many — some are quite open about the theory of split captaincy and some are speaking about it in hushed tones.
Ajinkya Rahane’s calm demeanour in India’s biggest overseas series win has opened up a debate but to disappoint the fans of the Test vicecaptain, there is little chance of a permanent anointment for him in the immediate future.
However, there could be a paradigm shift in how the leadership group in the Indian cricket team works when Kohli reenters that dressing room after a month-long paternity break.
When Kohli left, it was a team that was down in the dumps — dismissed for its lowest Test score of 36. But a lot has changed since that fateful afternoon in Adelaide.
While head coach Ravi Shastri is absolutely right in saying that this team bears Kohli’s “stamp and character” but from December 19 in Adelaide to January 19 in Brisbane, a few senior cricketers will be perceived a bit differently.
Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara and certainly Rahane, in their own little way, have created a legacy but post Brisbane, that legacy will need proper acknowledgement.
These four will not ask for it as they have now earned it after quite literally putting their bodies on line.
So when Kohli enters that Indian dressing room, he will remain the “first” but “among equals” in a leadership group that possibly will be more inclusive.
On Friday, when a question was put forth on this to stand-in skipper Rahane after the match got over but expectedly, his tight defence couldn’t be breached.
“I don’t want to think about all these things. This is a victory that we all need to enjoy and I will think about England series once I am back in India,” Rahane dodged the question. —