Indian Premier League season five has given the Indian cricket fraternity many points of discussion and one of those topics is whether it is time for India to look at another Test captain. MS Dhoni has done brilliantly for India since the time he took over the command. India was once the best side in all the three formats.
They won the inaugural T20 world cup, won the CB series in Australia and later won the ICC world cup. In Test matches India became the top side since the time ICC ratings come into existence. But things have changed a bit, India were knocked from the last T20 World Cup in the league stages. They had two horrendous tours in England and Australia, and struggled in the Asia Cup.
Dhoni for the first time in his career was criticized for his captaincy and the place that he made his own is now under serious debate. Dhoni has not done well in Test matches as compared to the other formats and there have been suggestions that there should be a change of guard in Tests. Dhoni in a recent press conference has said that there are players like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli who can lead the Indian team, but if it is in his hand he will continue to lead the side. So, let’s discuss the three options that Dhoni has presented.
Virender Sehwag:
Sehwag has been one of the premier batsmen for India from the past one decade. His record in Test matches is unmatchable and he has won India many matches in all the formats. He has scored two triple centuries in Tests and holds the highest individual score in the one day format. Sehwag has always been in contention whenever the captaining an Indian side has been discussed and he has led the team in few series. But going by what has happened in the past two years, Sehwag does not fit the equation, he sometimes is far too casual in his approach and that is not what you want from a captain. Some of the shots that he played to get out in England and Australia are simply unthinkable and it sends a wrong signal. He made some basic captaincy errors in the IPL as well.
Virat Kohli:
Kohli is termed as the future of Indian batting and he has earned this respect. He has played some of the best one day innings by an Indian batsmen and his resilience in Australia was great to watch. Kohli for sure will lead the Indian side in future, but the time is not right for him. He is far too aggressive in his approach which is not wrong, but a captain should be someone who should keep his cools in the tensest situations. He led RCB in most of the matches this season and showed his nerves in the middle. Kohli is young and has age on his side, his time will come but first he needs to martial the art of captaincy.
Gautam Gambhir:
He is the best bet for India if we are looking to change our Test captain. Gambhir struggled with injury in England and was not effective. He struggled against the Australian pace bowlers and did not do much, but he came back strongly in the one-dayers and played some good innings. Gambhir’s Test performance has been good and he played some crucial innings in South Africa and New Zealand. Gambhir was inspirational as a captain in IPL and it was his efforts that took KKR to glory. Gambhir believes in leading the team from front and always has a positive attitude toward the game.
