The excessive aggression of Virat Kohli and India's leadership options

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli, undoubtedly amongst the best batsmen of the current generation, is all set to take over the reigns of Indian Test team. Since his international debut in 2008, Kohli has turned in some masterful performances for Team India and nothing less is expected of him as India captain.

However, his divine strokeplay and elegance are sometimes overshadowed by his numerous altercations with umpires, opposition players and the sometimes unnecessary over the top celebrations, all increasingly becoming regular features of Virat Kohli’s day out at a cricket field.

On the Australian tour, in which Kohli captained India for two Test matches, paints a complete picture of both the pros and cons of having an aggressive person like him at the helm. In the first morning of the first Test at Adelaide, we saw a young skipper who looked clueless about fielding positions and bowling changes – David Warner meanwhile toying with the Indian bowling. As the game moved on however, Kohli looked more certain and relaxed in his approach.

A certain ‘Kohli-touch was introduced in the final day of the game, when he single-handedly, through his immense self-belief and skill, almost pulled out a remarkable victory for Team India. Kohli the Test player had finally arrived. Despite being on the losing side, everybody lauded Kohli’s aggressive style of playing and leadership which had almost given India a Test match victory on Australian soil out of nothing.

As the series progressed we saw Kohli getting into banters with the Aussies, telling people to “stay in their limits”, telling off premium fast bowlers that he has no respect for them. This overly aggressive nature of Kohli is a gamble of high stakes. If he fails, he is left looking rather foolish; and captains of teams cannot afford to look foolish.

Several times in the Australia series, an overly aggressive Kohli almost managed to give away his wicket at crucial junctures in the game, not because of excellent bowling by the Aussies but just because of loss of temperament on his part.

Even in the IPL, Kohli has been seen getting into spats not always necessary or even expected. The RCB skipper’s altercation with KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir is one of the most well-chronicled conflicts within the Indian cricket team. In the most recent incident, in the rain disrupted game between RCB and SRH, the umpires were delaying calling off the players whereas Kohli quite regularly was pushing to go off. He was well within his rights to question the umpires but the body gestures and his tone while questioning the umpires left a lot to be desired.

India’s options if Kohli’s charge is a failed one

But do India have other options to take over the captaincy mantle?

Murali Vijay – This elegant right-handed opening batsman has scored runs in almost all the conditions he has played in. He is an experienced campaigner, looks like a cool and calm customer, but has not had much of a leadership role in any of the teams he has been a part of.

Ajinkya Rahane – It might be too soon to pitch in Rahane, but considering the fact he has almost pulled off any challenge that has been thrown at him and the composed manner in which he goes about his business, he might not be a bad option too.

Rohit Sharma – This classy right-hander from Mumbai has looked quite good and settled in his role as the Mumbai Indians skipper in the cash-rich IPL. He has managed to win the championship twice as skipper, and moreover he seems to perform quite consistently when the burden of captaincy is put on his shoulders.

It is of course too soon to reason that Kohli needs a replacement; there have been many a leader who have worn their heart on their sleeve but have produce remarkable results on the field as well. Sourav Ganguly’s name is the first that springs to mind.

It is a fervent hope that in the next five years India does become the team to beat in the Test circuit under his leadership, as he had laid out his long-term plans as captain.