On eve of 1st Test, new skipper Rohit credits Kohli for Test turnaround and harps on need to build on his foundation
MOHALI: On Thursday morning, the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium here in Mohali was being decked up to host a Test match against Sri Lanka from Friday. This is the first international game here in three years and there is this unmistakable urgency in the build up to the game. Only four Indian players - Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat, Mayank Agarwal and Jayant Yadav - turned up for training on the eve of the match. Yet, it seemed like everything was about Virat Kohli in the stadium.
Seldom it happens in a Test match that the opposition and the pitch become secondary. This is Virat Kohli's 100th Test. That's how every individual working here refers to this event.
At a time when the market forces have become ruthlessly brutal with its revenue generation, Test cricket is surviving largely on the ego of cricketers-the single most important stakeholder in the ecosystem. And it was Virat Kohli's ego that triggered revival in India's Test cricket like never before.
Assuming full-time Test captaincy at 27 and with an experience of 32 Tests, he dared to prioritise Test cricket and set a vision for the team that would take them from No. 7 in world rankings to becoming a powerhouse in the format over the next six years.
Call it destiny but it may feel strange that he relinquished Test captaincy after his 99th game. On Friday, he will be just a stalwart who is playing his 100th Test. He has passed on the baton to Rohit Sharma.
Rohit wasted no time in acknowledging Kohli's contribution to India's Test cricket. "As a Test team, we are in a good position if you see the last five years. The credit goes to Virat to get us going in this particular format. He changed so many things in the way the team is moving forward. It's brilliant to watch that. It's been one hell of a ride," India's new Test captain offered an ode to a modern-day great on Thursday.
It's not a surprise that Kohli attained his peak as a batter during his captaincy tenure, given he has been the captain of India in nearly 70 per cent of the matches he has played. To put it bluntly, Indian cricket has got used to having Kohli the leader.
For Rohit, though, his first major contribution in bringing about this belief in the team came when Kohli scored 119 and 96 in a Test match in Johannesburg in 2013. It was the first Test in the post-Tendulkar era. "I remember that match because it was a challenging pitch which had bounce. We were all playing in South Africa for the first time. It was never going to face Steyn, Morkel, Philander and Kallis," Rohit put things into perspective.
The disappointing loss in South Africa earlier this year notwithstanding, a soon-to-be 35 Rohit has assumed Test captaincy at a much more stable time than Kohli. And he is the first one to acknowledge that. "I have to just take it from where he has left. We are somewhere midway in the WTC table but honestly I don't see we have done anything wrong in the last two or three years of Test cricket. I just have to do the right thing with the right players," he added.
It's taken Rohit nearly 15 years in international cricket to establish as Test batter. For all his white-ball credentials, his red-ball cricket didn't offer absolute confidence for most of his career. Again, it was his ego to prove himself in this format that saw him open the innings and command an undisputed place in the XI. He is unapologetic about playing 43 Tests till now.
Rohit has his fair share of challenges though. India are in a tricky spot in the WTC table and have been forced to go into a transition, leaving behind 282 Tests worth of experience in Ishant Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.
"The nine Tests we have (2 vs Sri Lanka, 1 vs England, 2 vs Bangladesh and 4 vs Australia), we have to win almost every game. There will be a lot of pressure. It's going to be a challenging one. There's no doubt about that. To come out really well from these situations, it's important for us to be in the present," Rohit stated.
Rohit would know there could be some shocks around the corner under his captaincy leading team that has been so used to the 'Virat Kohli firebrand' way of cricket.
The captaincy success in IPL and white-ball cricket will mean very little in this assignment. "It is important to think one thing at a time and it's a different format. There is no comparison there," he conceded before adding: "My philosophy of captaincy remains the same. That is staying in present and understanding the situation and what is the right call to take at that time."
As the crowd assembles to celebrate Virat Kohli on Friday morning, Rohit Sharma will walk out for toss in Test whites and navy blue blazer knowing he has a reputation to protect and a legacy to take forward.
