So it is official. Virat Kohli will leave Australia at the end of the first test for the birth of his first child. It is absolutely fine from a personal point of view. A dad is expected to be present at the birth of the child. No one must judge him for wanting to be at the birth of his first child. The bigger question is what will be the impact on the Indian team that their star batsman will leave the team with the series just only one test over? Somewhere else, Vengsarkar, the former Indian middle order batsman and former chairman of selectors, has complained against Ganguly. Let us get on with these. Kohli’s paternity leave impact and Vengsarkar’s Ganguly jibe.
Dilip Vengsarkar feels that the board president Saurav Ganguly is interfering with the work of others in the board
“When the IPL dates and venues were being discussed and organised, he was speaking on behalf of the IPL chairman. Sadly, time and again he’s sticking his neck out on behalf of those who are capable of taking decisions and explaining them on their own. Is he undermining their credentials? Or does he feel he knows more than the others?”
“It’s quite astonishing to see Ganguly wearing so many hats as he speaks on behalf of the supposedly appointed chairman of selectors, Sunil Joshi, as to why ‘X’ was dropped and ‘Y’ was not selected and why ‘Z’ was not considered, besides how somebody is still not fit,” Vengsarkar told the Times of India on Monday.
If we come to think of it, Vengsarkar is indeed spot on. Since the time Ganguly took over as the board president, he has been in the news all the time. He has given interviews and has made is views known to anyone who would listen. It makes one wonder. What is the point in having selectors, IPL chairman and the rest when the board president himself answers all the questions of the media? Infact, Ganguly’s tenure has already ended and he is just there as a caretaker and yet he is always on the news. It is time Ganguly takes a backseat and let the persons who have been chosen for the specific roles to explain to the media and to the general public about their decision.
Kohli’s paternity leave from the Australian tour
The Indian team’s best batsman will not be playing 3 tests out of the 4 in Australia. This is such a massive blow to the chances of the Indian team. Kohli has been the standout performer for the Indian team outside the subcontinent in almost every tour. His exploits on several Australian tours are quite known to everyone. His performance in the last tour was only eclipsed by the brilliant performance of Pujara. Kohli’s wicket is the most sought after for the Australian bowlers. Now, with his withdrawal, the Australians have been handed a huge boost to win and series and regain the Border Gavaskar trophy.
No one can begrudge Kohli for choosing his family. It is absolutely fine. Now it is time to look for the alternatives who can fill the huge boots of Kohli. The contenders are Shubnam Gill, Prithvi Shaw & Rahul. Rahul has experience on his side as well as runs in the IPL albeit in the T20 format. Shubnam Gill is someone who is quite talented. Prithvi Shaw is also talented but he is some severe technical shortcomings. Come to think of it, all of them plus Rohit & Mayank Agarwal are openers. There isn’t any reserve middle order batsman.
Assuming that Rohit & Mayank will be first choice openers, one of Shaw, Rahul & Gill will have to step into the shoes of Kohli. This is assuming that Vihari is part of the original playing eleven. I am afraid we do not have a solid middle order.
Kohli’s absence may not impact commercials
India is a cricket crazy nation. Especially, a tour to Australia is something the entire country will look forward to. Right from my childhood days, a tour to Australia have always captured my imagination. It will not be any different this time either. Indians do adore the players but that doesn’t mean that if a star player is missing we will not be watching. We will still watch and want the rest of the players to win the series. Hence, the commercial side of things is unlikely to be affected and Cricket Australia can be happy about that.
Opportunity for Rahane
Kohli’s absence gives an opportunity for Rahane to be the captain. In the only test he has captained so far, he showed good thinking in selecting Kuldeep Yadav who proved to be the match winner against Australia. This was in the fourth and decisive test against Australia in their last tour to India. Will Rahane be able to pull anything out of the hat for this series? Otherwise, there is no point in playing Rahane. He is still in the team because of his past exploits whereas his recent performances are nothing to write about. If Rahane fails to do anything substantial in this series, either as a batsman or as a captain, it is time to ease him out of the test team as well. Rahane has had lot of opportunities and it is time to give chances to other players if Rahane fails miserably.
Rahane is not getting any younger and his reflexes must have slowed down quite considerably. It is time for Rahane to show the batsman he was. Maybe just maybe, him being the captain will bring back the old combative Rahane. With Kohli missing, it is hightime Rahane steps up to the plate.
Conclusion
Australia playing at home is by itself a strong proposition. Now coupled with the fact that India will not having the services of Kohli for more of the test series and the batsmen who is likely to replace him will be short of experience and ability, it is advantage Australia right at the outset. Let us hope India is able to step up their game.
The other Australian tour articles can be read here and here.