One man’s injury is another’s opportunity. The age old saying cant be more true for Virat Kohli going into the Asia Cup. With MS Dhoni‘s captaincy under attack from all corners, Virat, it is universally acknowledged, is tipped to take over the reins in the future, may be after the World Cup in February-March 2015. Rather than captaining in alien away conditions, Virat now gets a chance to do so in the sub-continent, in conditions very similar to the ones he fancies in India. At the same time he is also getting an opportunity to play arch-rivals Pakistan, always a match of significant interest for Indian cricket fans at home and elsewhere in the world.
The question is can Virat, who has done brilliantly in all formats of the game in recent times, excel as India’s ODI skipper? Does he have it in himself to shine at the senior level just like he did as India’s U-19 skipper?
Every indication is he can. Virat is quick to adjust, isn’t afraid of facing challenges head on and most importantly is now the overwhelmingly dominant member of the side. There is no possibility of personal under performance impacting his captaincy.
In both South Africa and New Zealand, Virat looked assured of his presence in the middle. Scoring hundreds with an amazing consistency, he has established himself as India’s premier batsman and his attitude, cavalier and aggressive, will be in stark contrast to that of MS Dhoni. He, it can be surmised, will not be afraid of trying out a gamble and will also be more expressive and involved. May be after five years of seeing captain cool, it will be a welcome change.
Where Virat is seriously handicapped is he does not have MS Dhoni, the finisher in his line up. The one thing about Dhoni as a one day batsman is that there is no one to rival his ability to finish games and more so in the sub-continent. 150-4 with another 100 to get and in walks MS Dhoni. It has become a habit for Indian fans. And you know at the back of your mind that Dhoni will inevitably score a 40 or 50 and take the team close to victory if not beyond the line. That’s what Virat will miss during the Asia Cup in Dhaka. How will he tackle the absence of MS Dhoni the finisher will to a large extent determine his success as skipper in his first major assignment.
To his advantage he will have his spinners, R.Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, back at their best in Bangladesh. They are both very capable hands in friendly conditions and are capable of picking wickets and checking the run flow. Both are reasonable bats lower down the order giving Virat a number of options to play with. This is the kind of flexibility a captain needs and in sub-continental conditions there is little doubt India is a very good one day unit.
Personally I would like to see Virat use two players well, CheteshwarPujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Both have done well at the Test level and have the technique and the ability to score runs in any condition. Both of these players have the potential to be assets for India come the world cup one year from now. Pujara is a must to hold one end together if there is an early collapse and can do a job similar to what Hashim Amla does for South Africa. Rahane on the other hand is also capable of pushing the accelerator if need be. His Indian Premier League record is brilliant and there is little doubt that he is capable of playing the big shots. He has been in and out of the Indian one day side and has not done justice to his talent just yet. May be Virat will be able to get the very best out of him.
All said and done it is a huge test for captain Virat in the Asia Cup. It is also a much needed respite for MS Dhoni. There is no prudence in replacing Dhoni ahead of the World Cup and a few weeks outside of the game can help him rejuvenate and recharge. And in Virat he can surely see a deputy who he can bank on going forward. An otherwise boring tournament has suddenly turned interesting with Virat at the helm. All of us will be hoping he continues to perform.