India have invested too much power in Virat Kohli

[The Realist]

At Lord’s Kohli looked like a man who does not think his teammates can get things done unless he tells them how to do it

 

Kohli’s is still the key wicket and India’s fate is so closely bound to his own that all three innings they have played so far have turned on his dismissal.

When it came at Lord’s, caught at slip off Chris Woakes just after 6.30pm, the match seemed to shift irrevocably with it. There are countless thousands of cricketers in India. They have a larger talent pool to pick from than any other nation. And yet the way they are set up leaves an awful lot resting on just one of them. Kohli seems to like it that way. You can see his touch in almost every last thing the team do. Their coach, Ravi Shastri, seems almost ornamental. During their morning huddles he stands mute while Kohli issues the orders for the day.

Kohli has been involved in five run-outs in Test cricket but has been dismissed only once. He is not a man who gives up his wicket for the sake of a teammate. In the end it turned out that Kohli’s decision bought India only another handful of runs. But it all added to this impression that Kohli is a captain who seems to think that, if a thing has to be done, he had best do it himself. Which seems to mean that, if he does not, it does not get done at all. Brilliant as he is, it feels as if India have invested too much power, and too much hope, in just one man.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/aug/10/why-india-have-invested-too-much-power-in-captain-virat-kohli

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2018 by The Realist

[sensible-indian]

There's truth in it.

[Khota]

Three formats three captains.

[jf1gp_1]

People need to go back to sachin era ie 90s . he was the lone player and it appeared he had all the power. I cant remember if kapil was coach when sachin was captain. That was another disaster. That said we have always been captain dominated team, kohli is no different than dhoni or ganguly. Indian captain always gets what he wants.

[Trichromatic]

16 minutes ago, jf1gp_1 said:

People need to go back to sachin era ie 90s . he was the lone player and it appeared he had all the power. I cant remember if kapil was coach when sachin was captain. That was another disaster. That said we have always been captain dominated team, kohli is no different than dhoni or ganguly. Indian captain always gets what he wants.

Really? Read what happened before Aus tour.

 

No captain was this powerful.

[Turning_track]

1 hour ago, jf1gp_1 said:

People need to go back to sachin era ie 90s . he was the lone player and it appeared he had all the power. I cant remember if kapil was coach when sachin was captain. That was another disaster. That said we have always been captain dominated team, kohli is no different than dhoni or ganguly. Indian captain always gets what he wants.

Kohli wields a great amount of power because of the void created due to tussle between BCCI-COA & the ongoing case in SC.

If you remember the WI series when Sachin was the skipper, he had a tiff with the selectors regarding Noel David. There was a lot of muck between 1996-2000 & he had to deal with Dalmiya, Dungarpur too. Kohli doesn't have those compulsions to be answerable to anyone. Hell, even the media is much more subdued now than a decade ago. 

Edited August 11, 2018 by Turning_track

[kosingh]

The game the BCCI has played for the last several years with the ICC, is the game Kohli is now playing with the BCCI.

When your cash cow becomes larger than you...

[jf1gp_1]

1 hour ago, Trichromatic said:

Really? Read what happened before Aus tour.

 

No captain was this powerful.

Dhoni survived 8-0 and loss to england at home.

 ganguly pretty much did what he wanted. He dropped akash chopra and made yuvi open in test. 

[SK_IH]

Satyevachan,even commies like Ganguly and Sanju were pointing out the same,this lone alpha attitude will come back to bite Virat 

[Tibarn]

A typical hit piece that follows a cookie-cutter template. This could just as well have been a regurgitated piece from when MS was captain and Flethcer was coach. 

 

The truth is:

 

1) For the most part, the players who deserve spots in the squad and playing XI are already there.  If the batsmen don't perform, are technically inept, or are mental midgets, those are ultimately their demons they have to overcome. This isn't grade-school cricket where noobs need to have their hands held while playing.  These are professional cricketers who are ultimately responsible for their own success and failure.  The same goes for the bowlers. Cheerleader and his staff may be useless, but ultimately the players play the game.   

 

2) New players like Siraj and whoever else is the flavor of the month, rarely, if ever get drafted into the squad of a #1 ranked test side in the midst of a marquee overseas Test series, especially when there are multiple more experienced players waiting for their opportunities/extended runs.  Kohli has already shown tremendous flexibility in playing XIs and trying new players, ie Bumrah debuting overseas in SA. If Pant, Siraj, Shaw, Gill, whoever else deserves an opportunity, they will get it soon enough. 

 

3) Neither was there anything special about the team under Kumble, who is only being put on a pedestal because of the bum who followed him. The hands-on, "superior strategist" Kumble's accomplishments as coach were the same as Fletcher's: bashing non-Asian teams on our home pitches.              

 

 

Edited August 11, 2018 by Tibarn

[jf1gp_1]

2 hours ago, Turning_track said:

Kohli wields a great amount of power because of the void created due to tussle between BCCI-COA & the ongoing case in SC.

If you remember the WI series when Sachin was the skipper, he had a tiff with the selectors regarding Noel David. There was a lot of muck between 1996-2000 & he had to deal with Dalmiya, Dungarpur too. Kohli doesn't have those compulsions to be answerable to anyone. Hell, even the media is much more subdued now than a decade ago. 

 

While i understand the point you are making i partly disagree. I completely agree BCCI chairman always have had their agendas and thats one thing Kohli doesn't have to worry about much.

 

I however feel the reason for Kohli coming across so strong is because there is not one player in this team who is challenging him with their performance. Since you brought up dungarpur i bet you remember how we depended on Sachin. Under Ganguly, Sachin made our team strong but in 90s Sachin was the team. Virat departure means we are done and in such a situation anyone related to Indian cricket will listen to him and honestly i don't blame Virat. The guy is doing whatever he can to win, of course he will make some bad calls but without support he won't achieve anything. 

 

Dravid keeping entire 2003 WC wasn't best of decisions but we reached final and Ganguly was credited for thinking out of the box.   

 

 

[R!TTER]

Just now, jf1gp_1 said:

Dhoni survived 8-0 and loss to england at home.

 ganguly pretty much did what he wanted. He dropped akash chopra and made yuvi open in test. 

So what? Akash was a total dud except the few tests in Aus, even there it was Sehwag who was scoring all the runs and Chopra had near single digit contributions when the score read 50 or so. He was part of the reason why we lost to Aus in 2004, since he couldn't even score runs in India!

[Number]

Yes but the precedence was set post 2011 when commentators got sacked for not being full of praise for Team India, journalists in pressers were called out for not being happy when the team wins by 1 run. If any ex cricketer speaks against the captain the paid PR army will lynch him.

 

[Nonbeliever]

Even anushka bhabhi is most powerful bhabhi in the cricket world.

not only want to dominate the cricketing affairs, but also the general public on road. 

Hope she does not produce a biopic on shastri.

 

 

[nevada]

Even Mike Brearley said something similar a few days ago. Good teams typically have a relaxed atmosphere in the dressing room.  Does anyone feel that this Indian test team has anything remotely close to that?

[Lannister]

If he is unable to perform, then make sure your team is also not performing by selecting crappy players so that you will remain the sole focus of this team. 

[R!TTER]

Just now, nevada said:

Even Mike Brearley said something similar a few days ago. Good teams typically have a relaxed atmosphere in the dressing room.  Does anyone feel that this Indian test team has anything remotely close to that?

Kohli doesn't have an effin clue as to how to build a team, he'll be lucky if his form survives by the end of this tour, seriously lucky if we escape with a drawn series.

Edited August 11, 2018 by R!TTER

[Stan AF]

Byproducts of Dhoni Test era along with sycophantic fans worshipping.  First of all who gives a coaching job to a man like Shasthri.

[Gollum]

2 hours ago, jf1gp_1 said:

I however feel the reason for Kohli coming across so strong is because there is not one player in this team who is challenging him with their performance. Since you brought up dungarpur i bet you remember how we depended on Sachin. Under Ganguly, Sachin made our team strong but in 90s Sachin was the team. Virat departure means we are done and in such a situation anyone related to Indian cricket will listen to him and honestly i don't blame Virat. The guy is doing whatever he can to win, of course he will make some bad calls but without support he won't achieve anything. 

Ashwin? One might not be wrong in saying that he is even a bigger contributor than Kohli as far as test cricket is concerned. In ODIs/T20s too guys like Dhawan, Rohit, Bumrah, Kuldeep etc are challenging him with performances. 

 

In 90s Sachin had Sidhu, Azhar, later Dravid, Dada joined him. Besides our greatest match winner then was Kumble and we also had one of our greatest quicks in Srinath.