First points very first. There is no imminent threat to Virat Kohli’s captaincy in any format and neither is the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) even remotely considering on these lines. But that is the news portion of the story. When it comes to views, there are lots of — some are really open about the theory of split captaincy and some are speaking about it in hushed tones. Ajinkya Rahane’s calm demeanour in India’s most significant overseas series win has opened up a debate but to disappoint the fans of the Test vice-captain, there is small possibility of a permanent anointment for him in the instant future.
However, there could be a paradigm shift in how the leadership group in the Indian cricket group performs when Kohli re-enters that dressing area right after a month-extended paternity break.When Kohli left, it was a group that was down in the dumps — dismissed for its lowest Test score of 36. But a lot has changed given that that fateful afternoon in Adelaide.While head coach Ravi Shastri is definitely appropriate in saying that this group bears Kohli’s “stamp and character” but from December 19 in Adelaide to January 19 in Brisbane, a couple of senior cricketers will be perceived a bit differently.Ravichandran Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma and definitely Rahane, in their personal small way, have developed a legacy but post Brisbane, that legacy will have to have appropriate acknowledgement.These 4 will not ask for it as they have now earned it right after really actually placing their bodies on line.So when Kohli enters that Indian dressing area, he will stay the “first” but “among equals” in a leadership group that possibly will be more inclusive.On Tuesday, when PTI had place forth a query on this to stand-in skipper Rahane right after the match got more than but expectedly, his tight defence could not be breached.The query was how would he really feel when he once more requires a back-seat with Kohli returning to the steering wheel in his hands.”I don’t want to think about all these things. This is a victory that we all need to enjoy and I will think about England series once I am back in India,” Rahane dodged the query.But in his heart, the Mumbaikar could not have possibly forgotten that he, as a sitting vice-captain, was dropped from the Indian playing XI throughout the 2018 South Africa series.While 1 can give a sound explanation for that choice but the reality that a vice-captain was dropped can not be observed in isolation.Now, Rahane — India’s third highest run-scorer in the series with 268 runs right after Rishabh Pant (274) and Cheteshwar Pujara (271) — has cemented his personal spot in the annals of Indian cricket history.And even so reticent or unexpressive he could be, his voice will now be heard if he desires it to be heard. That has changed definitely.”His hundred put us back on track,” Shastri was the very first to acknowledge his effect.Take Ravichandran Ashwin (12 wickets in 3 games which was just 1 behind the team’s debutant star Mohammed Siraj) for instance. Even he would agree that this series is his very best overseas overall performance and the way he created Steve Smith his bunny would be remembered for a extended time.But has Ashwin, who will possibly be the fourth Indian to attain the 400-wicket club in some time, been feted as Nathan Lyon has been in his personal nation?Lyon’s wickets at MCG, SCG and Adelaide are spoken in glowing terms but has the particularly cerebral cricketer got his due for all the wickets that he has taken at Chennai, Nagpur, Pune and Hyderabad?When obtain of the series Siraj (13 wickets) was racially abused, the public stance that Ashwin took and the statement he created was no significantly less than Anil Kumble’s statesmanship throughout the ‘Monkeygate’ series.”When Siraj told us, we seniors, Rohit, Jinks and myself decided that we need to report the matter to the match referee,” Ashwin had mentioned in Sydney right after the incident.He spoke about how 3 seniors came with each other to rally about Siraj and comfort him when he faced abuse.Kohli knows that Ashwin is 1 of the most astute voices and right after the fight in Sydney, he also will be heard more in that dressing area.And then there is Pujara (271), who played 928 balls and the Brisbane victory belongs to the man from Rajkot as considerably as it belongs to Pant.Pujara took these blows to show that resistance at occasions could also imply intent and like Shastri mentioned, he is a “warrior” who desires to be valued.Pant was slipping down the radar but Rahane has place an arm about him and let him blossom in his personal way.May be when the ball begins maintaining low and turns in Chennai, Kohli will preserve faith in him and if dropped, Pant has completed adequate to owe an explanation for that.Rohit looked fantastic in 3 of the 4 innings and he had that calming influence on India’s newest batting sensation Shubman Gill (259 runs) throughout these opening partnerships.Rohit loves white ball cricket but he values the white India shirt for which he was prepared to commit 14 days in difficult quarantine in Sydney. All of it just to play two Test matches.He has taken these 5 catches at the slips and definitely, as a portion of the leadership group, he had a function in Navdeep Saini’s pace getting preferred more than T Natarajan’s swing at Sydney.When the next group meeting is held, these 4 seniors will have their say and the skipper will have to seriously issue in their inputs, altering the dynamics to some extent.There is a renowned saying by American gossip columnist Walter Winschel that aptly describes the new Indian dressing area.”Never Above You, Never Below You, Always Beside You”.
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