Dhoni’s decision pretty shocking: Virat
6 Jan 2015 11:50 PM GMT
Kohli has been thrust into the captaincy following the shock Test retirement of Mahendra Singh Dhoni following last week’s drawn third Test in Melbourne.
India’s premier batsman said India will continue to stand up to the Australians, who have already reclaimed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series. “It’s important for the players to know that we need to be in a positive frame of mind, a line doesn’t need to be crossed. But we are not here to back down from any sort of confrontation or any sort of battle.
You will still see positive cricket and the same aggressive intent,” Kohli told reporters on Monday.
Kohli, who led India in the first Test in Adelaide while Dhoni was recovering from a fractured thumb, has been his side’s leading batsman in the series, averaging 83.16 with three centuries and a fifty.
Kohli has been at the forefront of on-field confrontations with Australian players, notably Mitchell Johnson, Brad Haddin and David Warner and his style of leadership will be under scrutiny in the wake of Dhoni’s sudden exit.
“We were all taken aback by his decision because it was so sudden. We had no clue. We never saw it coming, so it was pretty shocking. There’s so much to learn from him, especially in tough situations: his composure, his decision-making at important times. These are the things which are priceless. Any captain would love to have them. I hope I can be as calm as him, but everyone has different styles,” Kohli said of Dhoni.
Kohli said since the Melbourne Test he has been thinking about areas to improve the India team, who have won only one of their last 22 Tests overseas and have been successful in only one of their 10 Tests at the Sydney Cricket Ground. “There were quite a few things that I sat down and analysed in Adelaide that can be improved on and I’ve thought about them in the past few days. What are the things that I can correct from Adelaide, the mistakes I made in that game? Hopefully, I’ll get those right and try to make the right decisions in every situation out there in the middle,” Kohli said.
Dhawan, Pujara likely to be axed
Newly appointed Indian Test captain Virat Kohli is set to make a clear statement that he is the big boy in town by axing opener Shikhar Dhawan, who reportedly stood up to him in a heated exchange in Brisbane.
The 26-year-old Kohli is wasting no time in marking out his territory, with opener Dhawan and middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara expected to be dropped for the fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), reports heraldsun.com.au.
The Indians are set to go into the dead rubber with a new-look batting order that promotes Rohit Sharma to number three and sends Lokesh Rahul out to open with Murali Vijay. But the talking point is Dhawan, who was also criticised for not going out to bat in the second Test’s fourth morning, leaving Kohli exposed to the field of play without much preparation.
Dhawan was hit on hand in the batting practice before play, and made a last-minute decision not to resume his innings. Kohli departed cheaply and reportedly fired up at Dhawan when he returned to the sheds. The left-hander then went out to bat and made 81 which indicated his injury was not that serious. Departed captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had also admitted at the time that there was unrest in the Indian dressing room.
India’s premier batsman said India will continue to stand up to the Australians, who have already reclaimed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series. “It’s important for the players to know that we need to be in a positive frame of mind, a line doesn’t need to be crossed. But we are not here to back down from any sort of confrontation or any sort of battle.
You will still see positive cricket and the same aggressive intent,” Kohli told reporters on Monday.
Kohli, who led India in the first Test in Adelaide while Dhoni was recovering from a fractured thumb, has been his side’s leading batsman in the series, averaging 83.16 with three centuries and a fifty.
Kohli has been at the forefront of on-field confrontations with Australian players, notably Mitchell Johnson, Brad Haddin and David Warner and his style of leadership will be under scrutiny in the wake of Dhoni’s sudden exit.
“We were all taken aback by his decision because it was so sudden. We had no clue. We never saw it coming, so it was pretty shocking. There’s so much to learn from him, especially in tough situations: his composure, his decision-making at important times. These are the things which are priceless. Any captain would love to have them. I hope I can be as calm as him, but everyone has different styles,” Kohli said of Dhoni.
Kohli said since the Melbourne Test he has been thinking about areas to improve the India team, who have won only one of their last 22 Tests overseas and have been successful in only one of their 10 Tests at the Sydney Cricket Ground. “There were quite a few things that I sat down and analysed in Adelaide that can be improved on and I’ve thought about them in the past few days. What are the things that I can correct from Adelaide, the mistakes I made in that game? Hopefully, I’ll get those right and try to make the right decisions in every situation out there in the middle,” Kohli said.
Dhawan, Pujara likely to be axed
Newly appointed Indian Test captain Virat Kohli is set to make a clear statement that he is the big boy in town by axing opener Shikhar Dhawan, who reportedly stood up to him in a heated exchange in Brisbane.
The 26-year-old Kohli is wasting no time in marking out his territory, with opener Dhawan and middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara expected to be dropped for the fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), reports heraldsun.com.au.
The Indians are set to go into the dead rubber with a new-look batting order that promotes Rohit Sharma to number three and sends Lokesh Rahul out to open with Murali Vijay. But the talking point is Dhawan, who was also criticised for not going out to bat in the second Test’s fourth morning, leaving Kohli exposed to the field of play without much preparation.
Dhawan was hit on hand in the batting practice before play, and made a last-minute decision not to resume his innings. Kohli departed cheaply and reportedly fired up at Dhawan when he returned to the sheds. The left-hander then went out to bat and made 81 which indicated his injury was not that serious. Departed captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had also admitted at the time that there was unrest in the Indian dressing room.
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