Vision 2019: Handover Reins To Virat Kohli
Has the time come for the process of rebuilding to be initiated? If yes, does it not start at the top? These are issues, besides the Lodha Committee Report, that the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s honchos need to address in the immediate future.
The ICC World T20 Championship is done and dusted as far as Team India is concerned and hence the focus must shift to the next cycle of multi-nation tournaments. The question is which of the tournaments is to be identified as the start or the finish?
There are three major world events in the offing in the coming years. The Champions Trophy, a knock-out tournament played among the top eight nations according to their rankings in ODI cricket is to be held in England from June 1 to 18, 2017. Incidentally West Indies have not qualified for the tournament.
The mega cricket event, the 50 overs-a-side World Cup will be staged in England and Wales from May 30 to July 15, 2019.
The third event, the World T20 Championship, usually held every two years, will not be staged in 2018, but will instead be held in Australia in 2020.
Thus if the 2019 and 2020 events, played in different continents with attendant change in ground, pitch and weather conditions, are seen as the most important ones and hence the focus, the process of rebuilding must start now.
The fact that the BCCI cricket committee of Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman have sounded out India Under-19 coach Rahul Dravid for Team India’s coaching position reveals a lot. He has been handling the Under-19 players for some time now and will thus be aware of the talent available at the junior level. His inputs could be the key to help picking the right guys for the 2019 and 2020 events.
The million dollar question would be the captaincy. Mahendra Singh Dhoni who has done an outstanding job for India will be 35 years of age this July. He may be too old to be any great asset to the Indian team in 2019 or 2020. His cricket is all about being sharp and bringing into play his brilliant hand-eye coordination. Would these traits stay with him? More importantly would he be able to fight the ageing process and at the same time lead a team? Unlikely!
Thus Virat Kohli, already the Test team captain, must be elevated for all forms of the game. Having Dhoni in the playing eleven during the transition period would be a great asset. But replacements for others, notably Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, should be a top priority.
Former Test cricketers Bishen Singh Bedi and EAS Prasanna both feel that Virat Kohli must replace Dhoni as captain immediately. Prasanna feels it would be in the team’s interest to have Kohli as captain and Dhoni as player. These are calls that the Board would have to take. And unless they are swayed by sentiment, Kohli is the way to go for Indian cricket.
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