Aus vs Ind: Rahane can do a tremendous job as captain, reckons Kohli
Virat Kohli will lead the Indian team in the first Test match against Australia at Adelaide. Kohli will fly back to India after the first Test, as he was granted a paternity leave by BCCI for the birth of his first child. Test team vice captain, Ajinkya Rahane will take over the captaincy duties for the last three Tests. Kohli reckons that Rahane can do a good job as a captain and is well accustomed to the strengths of the team.
“Firstly we have had a lot of mutual understanding and respect over the years, we’ve had great partnerships batting together which is based on trust and understanding what needs to be done for the team. Jinks has done a tremendous job (as captain) in the two practice games. He seems to be very composed and he knows the strengths of our team and how we have to go about our things,” said Kohli at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday (December 16).
“Actually, the way we’ve played our cricket has been the collective effort of our team. It’s a cultural effort and not only down to me strategizing things and putting things in front of people. It’s the whole team that has bought into it. We already know the template that we play with and how we go about things. We’re absolutely on the same page and I’m sure he’ll do a tremendous job in my absence as well.”
“His time to really step up as a player and captain,” Kohli on Rahane
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“The focus remains till the time I’m here to provide captaincy leadership and perform to the best of my abilities. From then on I’m pretty confident Jinks will do a tremendous job. I’ve said this previously as well, I feel this is his time to really step up and perform strongly as an individual and as a captain as well, I’m sure he’ll do a great job when I’m gone. We’re on the same page completely and the vision simply remains to put in good performances and make sure we’re competing every game and the idea is to win the series.”
The first Test match against Australia is a day and night affair at Adelaide. The Indians are not accustomed to playing with the pink ball, as their only encounter with the pink ball was against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens last year. Kohli believes that a team can never correctly predict how a pink ball Test will pan out to be.
“I think you can have a fair idea of how you want to go about things but I don’t think you can concretely plan for anything in Test cricket. Test cricket is all about encountering situations and reacting to those situations to the best of your abilities. Understanding when you need to attack, when you need to defend, when you need to bat through a session, end a session well, start session well. The pink ball Test brings in a few more variables like the twilight period, it’s a tricky one to bat in that situation and probably bowling in the first session as well, it’s up to being more disciplined and at night you have more to offer with the ball.
“Actually it’s the other way around when you compare it to a normal Test match scenario. And something we have to analyze and monitor as we get into the Test match and as we encounter the situation changing and unfolding in front of us. We’re actually ready to be able to come up with our plans into any situation that we’re faced with. Yeah I think it’s important to be prepared but you can’t really pre-plan anything, especially in a pink-ball Test where there are so many variables through the day,” said Kohli.
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Steven Smith, who has amassed plenty of runs against India in the past, enters the first Test with a sore back. Asked on whether India would consider using the short ball strategy against Australia’s talisman, Kohli stated that they would not deviate from their initial plans under any circumstances.
“I don’t think the back’s got anything to do with us changing our plans to him or any other batter. Our plans are pretty much sorted and ready for all the batsmen we are going to come up against. And we have to make sure we execute those plans consistently and as efficiently possible to be able to trouble them and get those breakthroughs and dismiss them at the right times during the Test match.”
“So we’re not focused on if their players are going to start or not, would they start or would they not start. We are not bothered about those things. We’re only focused on what we can do as a team and take that confidence and plans onto the field to be able to execute them. So yeah, we’re solely focused on what we can do as a side,” Kohli added.