Virat Kohli has shown his happiness over inclusion of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman in the panel of the Advisory committee of the BCCI and has termed this as “wonderful” news for the future of cricket in the nation. However he has also said that had Dravid also joined, it would have been really amazing.
Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) advisory panel, despite the proposal of including the fabulous four, fallen short one short of as Dravid had not given his consent owing to other commitments. Test captain of Team India, Virat Kohli said “It would have been amazing if all four would have been on board. (But) he (Dravid) must have had some obligation or commitment. If you have played cricket then, you have grown up watching these legends. It’s a wonderful thing to have happened and they will help us in many ways.”
The newly introduced committee’s responsibility will be to guide the board and the national team on the progressive steps needed to be initiated for future challenges. BCCI hoped that the three legends’ guidance will be sought in preparing the Indian team for tough overseas conditions in addition to strengthening the domestic structure. Many of the fans have taken note of Dravid’s absence but the secretary of the BCCI, Anurag Thakur has already clarified that the former India captain will be associated with BCCI in some capacity.
Sharing his views about BCCI’s decision to retain the services of Ravi Shastri as team director for the upcoming Bangladesh tour, Kohli said, “As long as he wants to continue, it would be beneficial for the team. He is someone who played cricket on his own terms. He brings that confidence and self-belief. You can count on him.”
Elaborating his immediate priorities as Test captain, Kohli said he wants the team to play positive cricket, for which he intends to create a friendly dressing room where players are free to give their inputs.
Kohli explained “First and foremost (the goal) is to play the kind of cricket we want to. I want to build an environment to make the team feel free. No one should hesitate to express himself and it would help everyone to contribute to the team’s cause.”
It is heartening to see Virat Kohli expressing his intentions in a mature and sensible manner. His foresight of creating an appropriate environment that allows the fellow cricketers a lot of space is really great. Hope to see a wonderful outcome.