Virat Kohli is the man of the day!
He is making his debut as a test-captain on the Indian soil and it is not going to be an easy beginning. He doesn’t need to prove his credential to anyone what with coming from behind and snatching victory in Sri Lanka and showcasing his master skills.
However, in India it is going to be different and that too against South Africa, a team that is in its full elements!
There was a time when India was really strong in its own backyard at least, with players like Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Lakshman, Anil Kumble and Virender Sehwag ruling the roost and ensuring that no one was able to defeat us in India.
Things have changed now. The senior most player of the current lot, M.S.Dhoni, like others, has also retired from the longer format of the game and there is no one experienced enough in the time to guide the younger lot. Virat knows it very well that he will have to lead from the front and that’s where his challenge lies. Openers like Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Cheteshwar Pujara are still not settled and despite being powerhouse of talent, each one of them is still miles away from being consistent in their performances.
On their good day, they can beat the best teams of the world single-handedly, but that one “good day” comes rarely!
On top of it, our bowling unit is still not fully functional. Either our pacers are going after pace or trying to maintain right line and length. Either they try to stop runs or they try to take wickets. There is no perfect balance and no leading senior bowler, who can really come forward, take the onus of producing results and inspire juniors in the team!
In this backdrop, the test series with South Africa looks really difficult and very challenging as the visitors are very well settled and having enormous talent amidst their ranks to create chaos for us. While Indian team is still looking to find the right combination of batsmen as well as bowlers, the visitors are looking sure of their strategy on how to contain India and give us a knocking punch!
Virat knows it all, but the question is whether he is ready to take the bull by its horns or are we going to just see a lot of experimentation without productive results?
Let’s hope our youngsters come out all guns blazing and prove their mettle! When fighting against the best, one’s best comes out!
Here’s hoping that Virat is able to bring out not only his, but his teammates’ best as well and come out victorious!
Good luck boys!
