Kohli the owner of 70 international hundreds is struggling for runs at the moment. He used to get to hundreds with nonchalant ease. Off late however, he either does not stay long enough on the pitch to get to a hundred or even if he stays, fails to convert 50s to 100s. What could be the reason for this? Is Kohli over the hill? Does he have lot more hundreds in him? Could there be any other reason? One thing is for sure. Kohli’s lack of runs is a concern.
Kohli is not only the captain of the Indian cricket team, he is also the main batter in the team. The wicket of Kohli is the most sought after for any opponent. The early wicket of Kohli not only demoralises the Indian batting order but it also rejuvenates the opponent manifold. In India, the wicket of Kohli silences the vociferous crowd. When he gets going, he scores his runs at a fast clip and thereby erodes the line and length of the bowlers. This makes the task of fellow batters much more easier because they were able to take advantage of the wayward deliveries. The impact a Kohli innings has is not easy to measure.
Kohli’s lack of runs is it because of exhaustion?
It takes lot of endurance to be able to represent the country in all 3 formats of the game. It is to be noted that he is the captain in all the 3 formats. Not to mention the 14-odd games that he captains for Royal Challengers in the IPL. Captaincy is a tough art. The captain will have to think about the batting order, who bowls when, field placing, think of how to pick up wickets etc. A captain will have to wear his thinking cap on even when he or she is not playing. It takes a heavy mental toll.
During the beginning of his tenure, Kohli did not feel much pressure because he was young and he had lot of ideas. He could not wait to implement them and get favourable results. As days went by, he began to gradually run out of ideas and became much more monotonous. Age began to catch up with him. This is not just for Kohli. It happens to an overwhelming percentage of captains. That is the reason captains always have a shelf life. Kohli too is enduring one such phase. This is certainly because of exhaustion.
It has been more than 40 innings since Kohli got his last hundred. This is across all the formats. He averages just above 26 in tests. However, his limited overs numbers are much better during the same period. That is probably because of the fact that in the limited overs, he has got much more support to score runs. Rohit Sharma is a modern day great in ODIs. The middle and lower order is packed with power hitters. The dependence on Kohli eventhough it is still there is somewhat reduced because of the presence of such players.
Kohli’s is much more important in tests
It is in the longest format where Kohli’s runs are much more important. India often plays with 5 batters, Pant and Jadeja. Pujara and Rahane in the middle has hardly done anything of note. In Rahane’s case, it is much worse. As a result of such mugs with the bat, Kohli will have to assume the bulk of scoring runs. The emergence of Rohit may ease a bit of pressure on Kohli but he is certainly feeling the enormous dependence on him to not only score runs but to play time as well.
This is a tall order for any batter. More so in Kohli’s case because he is also the captain. Anyone who has seen Kohli on the field will know that he spends lot of energy on the field. Some call it aggression and some call it as something that motivates Kohli and the team though I am not in support of such a behaviour on the field. This is bound to exhaust him sooner or later. Captaincy, pressure to score runs, over the top on field behaviour and good opposition bowling. All of them are coming home to roost.
Split in captaincy
Kohli is 33 years old. He has been the captain for more than 5 years. He hardly has another 4 years at the top. The Indian team needs Kohli at his best during his remaining career. It perhaps is time to split the captaincy and let Kohli enjoy remaining days of his career as a pure batter. Let him not worry about bowling changes, batting order and other things in the short format. Let Rohit assume the mantle of limited overs captaincy and Kohli can be in the team for moral support. I will allow him to carry with captaincy in tests because he has contributed quite a lot during his tenure. He deserves to go out on a high. Perhaps win the next WTC title and resign from captaincy.
Kohli’s contribution towards Indian cricket
Kohli’s contribution towards the Indian test team is legendary. He is the one who has brought fast bowling culture. Previously, Indian teams while on tour, were much more defensive in their thinking. The bowlers were much more interested in stopping the run flow rather than pick up wickets. Opposition piled on the misery of the bowlers. The dark years under Dhoni must be remembered forever. Ian Bell, who had a chequered career scored so freely in 2011 that it seemed Dhoni never had any idea how to bowl to him. Ponting and Hussey, who were about to be dropped and who had a horrendous 3 previous years, found a particular liking to all the Indian bowlers. The bowlers were not able to last for more than a couple of spells.
Kohli changed all that. He brought in fitness culture. The new fitness regime not only changed the ability of the bowlers to bowl for long hours but they came back fresh for every spell. The bowlers now started to hunt for wickets rather than slowing the game down. It is now much more exciting to watch the Indian bowlers rather than the Indian batters. Though Ganguly brought the winning culture, it is Kohli who has actually taken it forward after the dark days of Dhoni.
Hence, I think a split in captaincy will help Kohli and the Indian team enormously.
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