Virat Kohli is the man of the day!

He is making his debut as a test-captain on the Indian soil and it is not going to be an easy beginning. He doesn’t need to prove his credential to anyone what with coming from behind and snatching victory in Sri Lanka and showcasing his master skills.

However, in India it is going to be different and that too against South Africa, a team that is in its full elements!

There was a time when India was really strong in its own backyard at least, with players like Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Lakshman, Anil Kumble and Virender Sehwag ruling the roost and ensuring that no one was able to defeat us in India.

Things have changed now. The senior most player of the current lot, M.S.Dhoni, like others, has also retired from the longer format of the game and there is no one experienced enough in the time to guide the younger lot. Virat knows it very well that he will have to lead from the front and that’s where his challenge lies. Openers like Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Cheteshwar Pujara are still not settled and despite being powerhouse of talent, each one of them is still miles away from being consistent in their performances.

On their good day, they can beat the best teams of the world single-handedly, but that one “good day” comes rarely!

On top of it, our bowling unit is still not fully functional. Either our pacers are going after pace or trying to maintain right line and length. Either they try to stop runs or they try to take wickets. There is no perfect balance and no leading senior bowler, who can really come forward, take the onus of producing results and inspire juniors in the team!

In this backdrop, the test series with South Africa looks really difficult and very challenging as the visitors are very well settled and having enormous talent amidst their ranks to create chaos for us. While Indian team is still looking to find the right combination of batsmen as well as bowlers, the visitors are looking sure of their strategy on how to contain India and give us a knocking punch!

Virat knows it all, but the question is whether he is ready to take the bull by its horns or are we going to just see a lot of experimentation without productive results?

Let’s hope our youngsters come out all guns blazing and prove their mettle! When fighting against the best, one’s best comes out!

Here’s hoping that Virat is able to bring out not only his, but his teammates’ best as well and come out victorious!

Good luck boys!

The post Virat Kohli Knew It Coming, But Is He Ready? appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

Indian cricket once boasted of star players like Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Javagal Srinath.

These were players who were regularly seen in every match and kept on performing for the team whether it was one-days or the test matches. However, with time they have all retired except for Bhajji who has been dropped and selected as part of the team quite frequently.

Now if you talk of today’s team, except for M.S.Dhoni or Virat Kohli, no player is a regular feature in any of the matches. New players or even a bit experienced ones keep walking in and out of the team as if they are visiting a railway station waiting room without any purpose! Whether it is Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane or even Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant Sharma!

All of them are not new to the Indian cricket team, but none of them have given such stupendous performances on a regular basis that they can be considered permanent position holders in the team. Each one of them performs in few matches and then loses their form faster than we can change our clothes! Or worst, they get injured and are forced out of the team!

What is the reason for this?

Does it have to do anything with talent?

Or is it excessive playing that is taking its toll on them?

As far as talent I concerned, all these players are world class and have proven their mettle from time to time in the international arena. Some of them have shown what kind of potential they have to be world class players who can keep on playing for years to come. However, the pressure of playing in three different formats, which is the one-day cricket, test matches and T20, is proving to be too huge for them. May be the youngsters are not getting the right coaching and right direction about how to manage their body, mind and attitude to adjust to frequently changing conditions of world sports.

It is important for players to understand that it is not going to be easy to perform consistently if they don’t give rest to their body. Most of the players, if not playing for the country, are busy playing in the IPL or busy with their endorsements or partying and enjoying their life. If one can maintain the balance between all three, the way a Sachin Tendulkar did or Virat Kohli and Dhoni does, then go ahead and make the most of your life.

But not everyone is gifted or possesses such fine-balancing qualities.

For such players, it is important to keep country’s interests first so that they can have a long innings as a player in the Indian cricket team. Or else, there are enough players to replace them!

It is high time we see some regular players playing for the country as it gives confidence to the team itself while bringing stability in the dressing team. A strongly knit consistent team has more chances of winning matches instead of different men joining hands in different matches without having a strong bond!

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