[headbanger]

Being born in 80s and seeing Ganguly, MSD and Kohli's tenure as a cricket lover and purist, the theme of Indian team will be regrouping, maturing and enforcing in these timeframes respectively.

Perfection is mundane, beauty lies in imperfection and even the greatest legends of the games had chinks. What Kohli brought to the table was always known and people always expected him to sober down- but he was and continues to be like the torque punching locomotive. If there was one Indian captain who could lose to get a win, it was always Kohli and this trait of winning at all costs impacted his selection.

The chink in Kohli's armour was to not identify the phase when the game needs to be slowed down to not let it drift, but then Kohli was never a "gimme a draw" captain. The same philosophy is reflected in his batting- how many times has the batsman Kohli stood to draw a game?

How many captains had the will to play 5 bowlers over a longer course of their test tenures? How many captains can boast of the fast bowlers bowling at the same pace and not slowing down once they have cemented their place?

Kohli's selection process was never great but his captaincy on the pitch is not mediocre by any standards. Sometimes it takes time to digest the information and process the loss. Heck, if I ever go back to see the best time India had in test cricket, it will be Kohli-the captain's time.

Yes, the guy had chinks but whatever his process be, he brought the results which we would have not thought a decade back. Which Indian tour to SENA countries started with the sentiment that we will definitely beat them?

While the debate on who's a better captain can go infinitely, the timing of this decision has hurt the cricket fan. For me, Ganguly, the administrator has tarnished Ganguly, the captain. What should have been a successful and thought out successor planning has turned out to be what BCCI has always been serving - attempt at putting someone in his place.

In this struggle of ego punching, the loss is India's cricket. Getting to the top is difficult but staying there is much more. The hurt is that inspite of being the world's most powerful board and a huge talent base, BCCI still found a way to push the journey backwards.

I hope Kohli, the batsman, can cope with the situation and not lose out to the ego fight. Just like one SRT, there will always be one King Kohli - love him or hate him but you cannot ignore him.

Judging purely by count of winning ICC's trophies is a myopic view to gauge any captain. If that's the case, CR7 shares the same ignominy as well.

[fhdowntheline]

Somehow one gets the feeling that Kohli thinks he is too big for the sport. His (and his team mates) on field antics with the stump-mic were shocking to say the least. Decisions can go either way. I never saw him publicly reprimand his batsmen on the stump-mic for failing to deliver. The fact is the the Indian team criminally under-estimated the SA lineup and paid for it badly. No harm in owning "that" up and stepping down. Just don't become a hero or martyr of sorts.
We see this also being played out in Australia with the Djokovic saga, although that transgression is far more severe. Why do some champions think they are bigger than the sport that made them so?

[Bibendum90949]

Kohli 's record as captain.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

We see this also being played out in Australia with the Djokovic saga, although that transgression is far more severe. Why do some champions think they are bigger than the sport that made them so?

It is not like that. Players like Djokovic or Kohli or Ronaldo are there at the very top because of their own belief in themselves, because they have a process and they follow that religiously and because they are aware of their limitations and they have worked very very hard to develop other aspects of their game to overcome their limitations. They know they are not perfect but ironically these very imperfections helped them to reach the top.

Kohli wouldn't have become Kohli without his flaws. He found a way to channel those flaws to improve himself and some of those around him, by motivating them to improve their standards, their physical aspects, and their motivation. He has raised the bar immensely and it's a good thing. Onus on others to match or exceed it. Big challenge ahead for the next captain and Dravid. Somehow i feel our golden phase is over and it will be downhill from here for the Indian team.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by joslicx

It is not like that. Players like Djokovic or Kohli or Ronaldo are there at the very top because of their own belief in themselves, because they have a process and they follow that religiously and because they are aware of their limitations and they have worked very very hard to develop other aspects of their game to overcome their limitations. They know they are not perfect but ironically these very imperfections helped them to reach the top.

Kohli wouldn't have become Kohli without his flaws. He found a way to channel those flaws to improve himself and some of those around him, by motivating them to improve their standards, their physical aspects, and their motivation. He has raised the bar immensely and it's a good thing. Onus on others to match or exceed it. Big challenge ahead for the next captain and Dravid. Somehow i feel our golden phase is over and it will be downhill from here for the Indian team.

There are and have been others too at the top in each of their sports where they succeeded without tantrums. No one is flawless-thats obvious. But being the captain of the team means you need to behave responsibly as well. I have no problem with his "so-called" aggressive approach. But there is thin line between aggressive approach and aggressive personality. Like I said, instead of uttering a mouthful of nonsense at the host nation broadcaster, he should have looked at his own team's issues. That's being a responsible person. Novak Djokovic had become a political test case for all reasonable, well-functioning governments. If he had been granted his way through, it would have been a complete farce and mockery of law and order. It isn't always about rights. A civil adult person also has responsibility towards established law and order. Djokovic was making other vaccinated tennis players look like fools, and Rafa Nadal for example, was certainly not happy about it.

[redCherry]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

Somehow one gets the feeling that Kohli thinks he is too big for the sport. His (and his team mates) on field antics with the stump-mic were shocking to say the least.

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

No one is flawless-thats obvious. But being the captain of the team means you need to behave responsibly as well. I have no problem with his "so-called" aggressive approach. But there is thin line between aggressive approach and aggressive personality. Like I said, instead of uttering a mouthful of nonsense at the host nation broadcaster, he should have looked at his own team's issues. That's being a responsible person.

Exactly! Being a captain of a national cricket team, that too of a cricket-crazy nation, you need to be responsible when in public.
When Kohli came into the team he looked like he'll get close to what Sachin had achieved, such a great talent he was.

Despite that, I never liked him as a person for all his over-the-top behavior on the field. After this accusing-the-broadcaster episode, I have more reasons not to like him

He's a great batsman, yes, no doubt about that, but great captain, I doubt that, irrespective of what the stats say. I can think of few incidents from test matches to justify.
Picking Karn Sharma as the lone spinner in Adelaide ahead of Ashwin based on IPL form in his first match as captain. Karn Sharma is not even a regular in IPL anymore after that.
Same story with Triple-centurion Karun Nair, he's not even a regular in the state side anymore.
Playing all-pace attack while Australia (or was it England) included a spinner
Playing 2 spinners while the opposition had none
Dropping Ajinkya Rahane in South Africa (Yes, you read it right) in their previous tour of SA when he was playing so well.....and so on
And 2019 WC Semifinals, oh boy, Dhoni batting at No. 7 behind Dinesh Kartik and Pandya, when the required run rate was so high.


I think he's lucky to have had such a great bowling team under him that's helping his stats as captain. Never ever India had such a strong bowling team overseas, not at least since I am following cricket very closely (1980s). May be the turn around started when Ganguly was captain, Kohli happens to be reaping the benefits of previous captains' efforts along with the strong pace bowling team.

Now that he has resigned, I can't stop wondering if Karma caught with him for the way he played his part in Kumble resigning as coach, inspite of the then advisory committee (Sachin, Saurav & Laxman) recommending Kumble to continue as coach. He's getting the taste of his own medicine, courtesy BCCI

[hothatchaway]

On a day when the whole nation is going agog with yet another cricketing controversy, a young 20 year old precocious talent won a super 500 event on his debut, beating the world champion in straight sets. This came on the heels of our doubles pair beating the world's top pair to bag the doubles crown. Thank God there are several young athletes letting their performance talk for themselves rather than acting like boors in the playing arena and making a nuisance of themselves.
Contrast this with a handsomely remunerated bunch who don't have any silverware to boast of in the last d Cade and whose premier members as a rule underperform and yet act like a bunch of entitled prima dinnas. This ensures that the focus is always on the controversies they create rather than their on field performances. Despite their wealth of experience, they let their emotions get the better of them and let the team down
I hope more youngsters in this country explore a sport other than cricket.

[redCherry]

England lose 0-4 to Australia yet again.
England has only won 4 out 30 tests in Australia since 2000, they have managed to win 13 out of 20 tests against them at home.
For all the talk about Ashes, it's overwhelmingly lopsided in favour of Australia. Not good for test cricket .
England should play Ashes only at home and make some excuse to not play Ashes in an away series for everyone's good

On the contrary, just concluded India-SA series was compelling to watch although it was a low-scoring series. Players like Jansen & Petersen are find of the series and good for cricket.

[landcruiser123]

I'd say BCCI should take a bold call make Shubhman Gill the captain and slot him at 3 for the next 2 years.

Originally Posted by redCherry

England lose 0-4 to Australia yet again.

English test cricket has gone to the dogs after they prioritised the white ball formats. Their batsmen were a joke this Ashes.

[PPS]

It will be interesting to see in which direction the Selectors go. Rohit Sharma will be 35 this year. There are 2 WCs coming up, for which Rohit has been appointed Captain. Off late he's found success as a Test Opener but everyone knows how difficult it is to play all 3 formats forget captaining them! He has been a bit injury prone off late to make matters worse. Though Rohit is the obvious choice for Test Captaincy but I feel it makes sense for the selectors to look for someone else. Apart from the 1 off Test in England we do not play any test matches in SENA countries till end of 2023. Just hope we don't start losing home test series!

[TorqueyTechie]

I don't believe Rohit should be the captain of the test team(inconsistent, injury prone) thought BCCI might just appoint him to have a single captain across formats. For me personally it will be a toss up between Pant and Ashwin with Rahul a dark horse.

[volkman10]

A tribute to Virat's captaincy

[PPS]

Perplexed to see Bumrah & Ashwin play this inconsequential ODI series! Would have been a perfect opportunity to try out Prasidh Krishna & a few others since these are auditions for the T20 WC later in the year.

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by PPS

Perplexed to see Bumrah & Ashwin play this inconsequential ODI series! Would have been a perfect opportunity to try out Prasidh Krishna & a few others since these are auditions for the T20 WC later in the year.

I think it makes sense.
Bhumrah was rested for the English at home tour, if I'm not mistaken.
Ashwin hasn't set the charts on fire in the recent test matches.

Good to play them both.

[NPV]

Over the years, India has won a sum total of 10 ODI's Vs South Africa in South Africa.

Of these, Kohli has won 5 out of 6 games as captain. The remaining 5 games have been won by 5 different India captains!

KL Rahul doesn't seem to be ready for captaincy even in ODIs (lost when it comes making field placement changes and bowling changes/rotation). And he completely lacks enthusiasm, energy, vibrancy and intensity that we've been so used to seeing with Virat Kohli. I wish we get back to winning ways soon and do well in the T20 World Cup and then the ODI World Cup next year.

Timing wise, I think the BCCI completely lost it when it came to showing/proving who is the boss, ego clashes and control freaks do not augur well for Indian cricket. I know many people think about Kohli in similar vein, but there's probably much more than meets the eye. In the BCCI Vs Kohli fiasco, Indian cricket seems to be the loser

Let's see how this pans out in the next few months, fingers crossed.