Former Australia cricket captain and a commentator in channel 9 Ian Chappell feels India Test skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s time at helm in the test team is over and it’s the perfect time for the team management to make Virat Kohli a full-time captain for the longest version of the game.
India’s stand-in skipper, Kohli scored centuries in both the innings and led a bold run chase on the final day to put his team within touching distance of winning the first Test before a batting collapse led to a 48-run defeat for the visitors in Adelaide.
“Kohli’s performance over three and a half days must have tempted the selectors into thinking now is the right time to elevate him to full-time Test captaincy. There’s no doubt that MS Dhoni has passed his use-by-date as a Test captain, and this seems the perfect time to enact the changeover. Kohli, India’s stand-in captain but potential full-time leader, countered with an innings marked by plenty of physical courage, producing a glittering array of shots after receiving a fearful blow to the head.
Kohli’s innings issued a strong challenge to his own team and sent a simple but forceful message to his opponents: we will not be brushed aside as easily as the last time we were in Australia,” Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo.
He also added “This is a young Indian side, full of potential and the desire to establish its competitive credentials. As a player, Kohli has indicated he’ll be buoyed by the leadership duties, not weighed down by them. However, his petulance on day four raised doubts about his ability to provide the calm, thoughtful presence that could mould the team’s potential into a combative winner. The one issue that has always clouded the future of Kohli as a captain raised its ugly head in Adelaide when his emotions got the better of him as a second on-field altercation erupted,” wrote Chappell.