Future lies with Kohli

Virat Kohli’s Team India beat the world’s top-ranked Test team, South Africa, 3-0 to lie a close second in the table of merit. Heavily doctored pitches may have helped India in at least two Tests, the worst of this designer pitch syndrome being seen in the Nagpur surface which was termed “poor” by the ICC match referee. The home team tweaked the odds to bring about a series victory. What might make the difference was the normal Kotla pitch on which Team India won in the nick of time with its fast bowlers delivering some quick blows towards the end, suggesting a capacity to conquer the conditions.

Kohli has done a remarkable job in his 10 Tests as skipper, starting in Adelaide, Australia, last year when Dhoni was absent injured. He has rebuilt his young side into a confident combination that looks capable of stretching its good performances away from Asia too. Of course, proof would have to come from on-field performances. Right now, it appears the Indian team is on the upswing after having lost the services of so many quality players.

The question now is whether Kohli should be leading Team India across the three formats. While one captain with undiluted authority in Tests, ODIs and T20s would be ideal, Dhoni, despite his noticeably declining prowess, may have done enough to take his celebratory bow after leading India in the T20 World Cup in February-March 2016. Regardless of the result, it would be in the best interest of Team India if Dhoni were to relinquish the limited-overs charge so Kohli can be the real man in total charge of Indian cricket’s future.