IND vs AUS Sydney Test: If you are fond of watching and reading cricket, then this news is now old for you that a senior player in Team India wants to become the captain in place of Rohit Sharma. This thing has been going on for the last several days. Wherever you might have read or seen the news, most of the websites or TV channels would not have mentioned the name of that senior. Some one must have written directly that this is no other senior but Virat Kohli. After all, how much truth is there in this? Does Virat Kohli really want to take charge of Team India again? If he wants to do this then what is the reason for it? If he has no intention of becoming the captain and yet this news is being widely circulated in the media, then what is the reason for this? Does anyone want to create differences in Team India? Does anyone want discord in the pair of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who have always stood by each other? Is Virat Kohli being defamed? Is false news being spread about Virat?
Kohli was seen guiding Bumrah in Perth
Virat Kohli wants to become the interim captain of Team India. This was first written by an English newspaper in India. However, he did not write the name of Virat Kohli and said this only in gestures. The newspaper wrote that the senior player of the team wants to become the interim captain. In the inputs given about this player, it has been said that this player is looking extra active at the moment. Now those who watch cricket can easily understand that if any one player has been most active on the field in the India-Australia series, then it is Virat Kohli. When Rohit Sharma was celebrating becoming a father for the second time in Mumbai and Jasprit Bumrah was captaining in his place in Perth, it was Virat Kohli who was giving the most advice to this pace captain.
Kohli always looks active even after Rohit’s return.
Virat Kohli continues his activism even after Rohit Sharma returns to the team. Virat is giving advice to captain Rohit and also giving line-length advice to the bowlers. In a video, it can be clearly seen that Virat Kohli is asking Mohammad Siraj to bowl over the wicket. When Rohit Sharma opposes this, Virat Kohli tells him the benefits of over the wicket bowling. Virat also asks him to change the field. Rohit accepts this very easily. Its result comes in the form of a wicket in the very next over.
Last tour of Australia…
From Perth to Melbourne Test, we see that Virat often asks the bowler whether the ball is swinging or not. Many times he advises the bowlers to keep the ball forward so that there is movement. This thing can be understood in two ways. Firstly, this could be Virat Kohli’s last tour of Australia and he does not want to leave any stone unturned. Secondly, Virat Kohli is well aware that if the maximum number of spectators are coming to watch any Indian in Australia, then it is him. Before the start of the series, if Australian newspapers were filled with photos of any player, it was Virat Kohli.
Kohli has been Rohit’s most special advisor
It is not that Virat is doing all this for the first time. Ever since Rohit Sharma became the captain, his most important advisor on the field has been Kohli. We can easily see this in the ODI World Cup played in 2023 and the T20 World Cup in 2024. This was the time when there were no questions on Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. He started captaincy and the team was winning most of the matches. There was no special need for anything new in the style in which the team was playing. With time things changed and difficulties also started emerging. Especially after winning the T20 World Cup, it seemed that Rohit Sharma has now achieved everything that he had desired. Seeing their reaction after winning the T20 World Cup, it seemed as if India had won the World Cup for the first time. It is a different matter that we cricket lovers have seen Kapil lifting the World Cup trophy in 1983 itself. Then MS Dhoni lifted the World Cup twice with grace and ease, but no frenzy or ‘gimmick’ was seen in his celebrations either.
Rohit’s performance declined after winning T20 World Cup
Rohit Sharma’s captaincy starts declining as soon as he wins the T20 World Cup. India loses the ODI series in Sri Lanka for the first time in this century and Rohit Sharma is the captain. After this, India loses three consecutive test matches to New Zealand on its own soil. What had never happened before in history happens. New Zealand, which had not won a Test match in India for 35 years, returns after sweeping the series. After this the Indian team is in Australia. He has won a match there in which Rohit Sharma was not there. This is not just a coincidence. This is the decline in Rohit Sharma’s game, which is clearly visible and which is now taking a toll on the team. Rohit Sharma’s fans do not accept this. They have started turning Rohit’s failure into a controversy. It is worth writing that when Rohit Sharma was not in Perth, many players wanted to come forward to take over as captain and a senior player (Virat Kohli) is also included in it. If we look at the entire incident, we will find that this is a failed attempt to save Rohit Sharma. This can be understood in a sequential manner.
Everyone knew that Bumrah would be the captain in Perth.
First of all, there was never any doubt that Jasprit Bumrah would be the captain in the absence of Rohit Sharma, at least during the Australia tour. He is currently the best player in the Indian team and is perfect in all three formats. Australia has proved this wrong for the last 4-5 years that no bowler can become a captain. There is no doubt that Jasprit Bumrah is the best option to become the captain in place of Rohit Sharma in the Test and ODI team. No one can point a finger at Bumrah’s ability.
KL Rahul is busy saving his place
Therefore, when it is written that there are many players who want captaincy in the team, it is natural that names other than Bumrah are also included in it. Then who are those who are left after Bumrah? Among these, the names of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant come to the fore. Everyone knows that KL Rahul is currently struggling to make his place in the team. Rahul, who debuted 10 years ago, recently had to vacate the place for Sarfaraz Khan. Had Rohit Sharma been in the first test match of the Australia tour, Rahul would not have been in the playing eleven. Now the player whose place is not confirmed has at least refrained from challenging the captain.
Pressure is increasing on Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant’s desire to become captain is somewhat understandable. This ambition was also cited as the reason for his move from Delhi Daredevils to Lucknow Supergiants in the IPL. But the problems with Rishabh Pant have started in the Australia tour itself. The manner in which he lost his wickets forced Sunil Gavaskar to call him stupid. Pant is a match winner, there is no doubt about that. But his habit of throwing wickets is keeping him away from the captaincy race for now. Before the Sydney Test, it was even reported that Pant could be dropped from the playing eleven. Therefore, it does not seem that Pant or KL Rahul will challenge Rohit Sharma for captaincy.
Kohli has been having trouble with the board
Now finally we come to Virat Kohli. Kohli is the person who has been taking on the board chairman. In India, there have been many examples of becoming captain through friendship or agreement with the board president. From Sourav Ganguly to S Dhoni, everyone has got the support of the Board President in becoming captain. Virat Kohli is the first Indian captain who showed the mirror to the Board Chairman in a press conference. Remember that when the coach selection committee led by Saurabh Ganguly put forward the name of Anil Kumble, Virat Kohli gave the message that he did not like this name. Captain Kohli then chooses the coach of his choice (Ravi Shastri). After Saurabh Ganguly became the President of the Indian Cricket Board, Kohli has to face a different challenge, but let’s talk about that some other time. In the end Virat Kohli leaves the captaincy or rather he is forced to step down from this post.
Virat knew that the next captain is Rohit…
As soon as Virat Kohli was the captain, Rohit Sharma had already strengthened his claim as the new captain. Everyone knew that Rohit was the second most senior player of the team. It was decided that if Virat Kohli left the captaincy, the Hitman would take charge of the team. But the issue of Kohli leaving the captaincy or his removal from the captaincy also needs to be looked at from a broader perspective. BCCI gives its formal information through a press release and that too in its last two lines. Since then, Virat Kohli has been playing as the senior most player in the Test team. In the last two and a half years, it never seemed as if he was trying to snatch Rohit’s captaincy. Yes, it definitely felt that he was giving some input to Rohit every moment. And this has been Virat’s personality. Even when MS Dhoni was the captain, he was as active as he is now. In such a situation, there is no truth in speculating that Virat wants to become the captain again.
Kohli wants to focus on batting
Bumrah is the ideal choice to replace Rohit Sharma in the Indian team. It is also certain that Rohit Sharma will continue to captain the ODI team till the Champions Trophy. After this tournament the IPL festival will start in India. After that the board will have to decide who should be the captain of the ODI or Test team. The next big tournament in ODI is to be held in 2027 (World Cup), in which Virat Kohli’s playing cannot be guaranteed. In such a situation, the board refrained from betting on him. Virat Kohli also avoided taking extra pressure on his batting in the last phase of his career. He would like to say goodbye to his career while enjoying. Kohli wants to leave his legacy as a batsman because no one talks about his captaincy due to not winning the World Cup. His role on the field is also that of an elder brother. In such a situation, it seems that the news expressing Virat Kohli’s desire to become the interim captain is just an attempt to divert attention from the performance of Team India. Nothing more than that.
Tags: India vs Australia, jasprit bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Team india, Virat Kohli
FIRST PUBLISHED : January 2, 2025, 8:49 PM IST