Virat Kohli Faces The ‘Opening Combination’ Dilemma Ahead Of The Second Test

Jul 31, 2017 at 5:56 PM

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Virat Kohli Faces The ‘Opening Combination’ Dilemma Ahead Of The Second Test

A long time goal

Selectors, fans and hard-boiled critics never always come together in agreement with one single facet of the game. This holy trio, which forms the support for Team India, directly and indirectly, has always divided opinion; Walking with thoughts falling in the same line isn’t expected much under most circumstances.

But, of late, these three sects have realised one important goal for which they yearned together with the same voices – a strong ‘bench strength.’

Somehow, India never managed to have a pool of reserve player who were as strong as the ones who were in the starting XI. Extraordinary names have always come and gone but an extraordinary pool of players have seldom been seen warming bench at the same time.

Let’s pick the XI

Starting from the descending order, we have a fully loaded bowling attack which has the likes of Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar sitting on the sidelines. The return of Shami has benefitted the side greatly while the renewed confidence of Umesh at the Test level has been refreshing.

Ishant has been the potential leader of the bowling attack whereas Bhuvi has proved beneficial every time the team has needed him. The combinations involving these men promise to work regardless of the conditions. Lastly, the emergence of Kuldeep Yadav has been a great addition to aid the overall balance of the team.

Wriddhiman Saha getting himself settled in as MS Dhoni’s Test format replacement has been wonderful as well. The Bengal star has been doing his job with the great amount of success and look set to don the gloves for the next couple of years if all goes well.

Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Kartik look like the most suitable wicket keeping option and stand next to Saha in the ranks as his replacement although the part is not in the squad which is currently present in Sri Lanka. This is great a sign in the post-MS Dhoni-period. Many were really sceptical about the suitable successor and fortunately, we have three highly experienced domestic stalwarts to take up his role.

Who will open?

The batting order also required no meddling except if we had no injury troubles. But, the sudden return might cause a “good” problem for Kohli regarding the selection of the opening combination.

Ahead of the series, Murali Vijay was ruled out due to inability to recover from the wrist injury creating an opportunity for KL Rahul to test his calibre as a Test opener. But, as luck would have it, Rahul could not make himself available due to viral fever leaving Kohli with no option but to go with Abhinav Mukund as Shikhar Dhawan’s opening partner.

The pair did a decent job individually even though they failed to get a solid act together. Dhawan started off with a knock of 190 in the first innings while Mukund made up for the poor show in the 1st innings with an 81 in the following innings.

Mukund’s knock was an interesting case where the backup opener somehow managed to place his case for the next Test as well. However, he might not feature in the next two Tests despite the 81 runs knock as KL Rahul returns to the fore.

Rahul’s comeback will be straightforward but it surely brings a pleasant problem for skipper Virat Kohli. It’s the availability of too many options.

To put things in perspective, as of now, in the absence of Vijay, there are three men readily available to partner Dhawan – Rahul, Mukund and an outsider in the form of Rohit Sharma.

The upcoming Test gives an opportunity for Kohli to test the strength his openers. If he goes with the option of experimenting rather than just picking KL Rahul because he was meant to be in Vijay’s place, the skipper can create a wider range of openers in his squad.

There have been rising calls for the inclusion of Rohit Sharma as the opener. Ideally, he has settled into the No. 6 position in white. He has assured success a good level of success at that batting position with 667 runs from 11 matches at an average of 47.64.

The major reason behind pushing India’s most lethal limited overs opener down the order has been the availability of a more stable completion in the form Murali Vijay. Sharma’s failure in the top order, batting at No.3 & 4 has also cleared his name from the front runners for the opener’s position in the last two years. MS Dhoni and Kohli, both have naturally assumed that Sharma is better off playing in the middle for the stability of the team.

It can be easily assumed that if one out of Dhawan or Mukund had been injured, in all likeliness, Kohli would have either opened himself or brought in Rohit. There’s no doubt he is a Test opener who never got his chance. Mukund’s case also argues for a long run to prove consistency.

Rahul, no doubts, is the front runner and will be in the XI most likely. But, Rohit and Mukund are just one good example of potential waiting to be tested with lengthy opportunities.

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