“I am someone who speaks more about the process rather than thinking about the results."This was by MS Dhoni a day after India’s loss to New Zealand in the test series and this was already a favoured template for him with the media after 14 consecutive winless tests abroad.
“We are not at a stage now where we need to come and improve. We should be ready enough in international cricket to start dominating Test matches and win those crucial situations and sessions.”
This was by Virat Kohli recently after the team’s innings victory against West Indies in the first test in Antigua. Again in frequent appearances to the media, Kohli just can’t seem to stress enough on how much he wants his team to play an attacking brand of cricket.
Two different ideologies and we can see the changes already. This article is not a criticism of MS Dhoni but a look at the current Indian squad and see how this renewed belief Kohli has given them changed them as a side in tests.
Under Dhoni, India was always learning. It was all about the process. And to be fair to him it did seem that there was much he could do about it.
Bowling machines bowled more consistently than the seamers. Ishant Sharma was always the unlucky bowler to bowl a good ball and not get his due wickets. Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron were the new Shaun Tait- fast but very erratic. Kumar and Shami were good but struggled in frequent spells. It seemed as though Ashwin was trying to bowl six different delivery every over. Jadeja was confused of his role in the team.
A 8-0 away loss against England and Australia along with a shock home series defeat against England exposed their batting inadequacies. A whitewash against Australia at home later was small relief. It seemed nothing was going right for India at least outside the country. Dhoni blamed the lack of all-rounders, the lack of good seam bowlers and finally he went back to his typical Dhoni statement, it’s all a process.
He became defensive too fast. He played the waiting game too often. And that is where Virat Kohli has bought a change to this team’s ideology.
Instead of protecting his seamers he throws them right into the spotlight. With Kohli the response to a boundary hit is the addition of another slip to the cordon.He challenges them to perform, removes the fear of non-performance and brings out their attacking instinct to play with confidence.
The spinners were once Dhoni’s specialty and his control in a test match was highly dependent on their performance. Kohli has taken that to another level and the spinner’s play with even more freedom. In-out fields, men consistently around the bat and an encouragement to keep bowling aggressively has bode well for the team.
It seems as though Virat has risen the bar that Dhoni had set for his bowlers and has succeeded in helping them go a long way in achieving it. It obviously helps with the five bowler strategy which has been Kohli’s USP all this time. Dhoni’s reluctance in playing five bowlers to shield a seemingly out of confidence batting order put more pressure in the bowling department. However as Kohli says, however well the batsmen play the only real chance in winning a test is when the team picks 20 wickets and he has stayed true to the saying.
In response he has given more responsibility to the batsmen to perform, be consistent and not to depend on the next batsmen. He has asked them to be ruthless, to bat once and bat big. It is all very well said and done but he leads the way with his own performances. The players are more confident now and each player is clear of his role. They are encouraged to recognize the big moments and win crucial sessions of play.
We can see the changes too. Under Dhoni it seemed that weren’t enough players to provide a competition to the ones playing. Now we see that there is competition for almost every spot. Vijay, Dhawan and Rahul are vying for the opener’s slot. Pujara and Rohit are in a perpetual first drop duel.Saha has Ojha waiting his turn.
The bowling stocks have never been more abundant. The group of Ashwin, Mishra, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Aaron along with the all-rounders Jadeja and Binny shows us that Kohli and Ravi shastri have been successful not only in developing a team consisting of players with well-defined roles but more importantly a squad of 15-20 players. These players can come and compete healthily amongst themselves which removes complacency yet giving the ones playing the needed security. The bench strength is better now.
Kohli has made sure mediocrity is no longer accepted. A draw is not enough. That isn’t to say he is intolerant of mistakes. Errors are fine in pursuit of the win. He is trying to create a culture where playing to win becomes a habit and he isn’t afraid to lose along the way for it. An interesting new season (and dare I say it, ERA) looms for the Indian team with players more confident of their own ability and that of their team-mates.
Virat kohli has made sure doing nothing is no longer a option. Consistent efforts to improve and experiment has led to Ashwin being given a chance at 6 to showcase his skills. It may or may not work but it shows the flexibility this Indian team has.
However, at the same time it is important to respect the work Dhoni has done. Under him Ishant Sharma learnt consistency and it is doubtful if Umesh Yadav and Rohit Sharma would have been in the squad had they not had the bountiful opportunities that were presented. Dhawan too was given support and under Dhoni it seemed easier to get in the team than to get out.
This helped in players developing themselves and has, to a extent, complemented Kohli’s vision.
There is still a long way to go for Kohli and his youngish team but with players like Ashwin, Rahane, Ishant and the others he has a squad were most players have reached or are close to reaching their peak.
The vision is there. The ambition is there. The talent is there. The confidence is there.
It’s all about execution and there is a new era unfolding in front of us which promises an interesting brand of cricket which is aptly portrayed by Kohli’s line of thought ;
When in doubt, Attack.
