Afghanistan are set to play a one-off Test with India post the IPL and the only figure that will be missing, unless you considered Mohammad Shehzad absence a no-brainer, is that of the captain- Virat Kohli.
This was to be, undoubtedly a keenly-followed contest as it would have pitted a powerful and dominant Indian batting order against a famous Afghanistan set-up blazed by a repertoire of class spinners. We would have had the privilege- in the real sense- to see a Rashid Khan attempt to breach past Virat Kohli’s defenses and see a Mohammad Nabi upset Cheteshwar Pujara’s rhythm. And now, while the prospect of the latter remains unchallenged, we are surely going to miss the Rashid versus Virat contest.
The man always in charge, whether leading the team to a glamorous fightback or sculpting a quintessentially gritty knock, Kohli will be missed a lot. But despair not for the assignment that Virat has signed up for is perhaps going to aid India as the famous cricketing outfit takes to England’s nippy breeze next year in a bid to return with the ICC World Cup.
Apparently, the dashing right hander has signed up a contract to play with Surrey, a legendary county outfit that is going to assist his technique and arguably, galvanise his cricket further. With an eye to adapt to the English weather and turfs, Kohli will be present in the chill of England whilst back on the heat will turn to see the better among India and Afghanistan. The latter, of course, will attempt historic effort to challenge the hot favourites. But interestingly, there has been no dearth of a caustic debate turning up on social media asking whether Kohli’s absence in the one-off Test is any wise?
And perhaps, it’s not too hard to understand why there’s been some ongoing raging debate, within minutes of the news hitting fans and admirers of the game. Kohli, is of course, national treasure and a cantankerous figure responsible for bowlers’ plight. It’s remarkable that his presence is so implicit in sharpening the chances of an Indian triumph- regardless of format- that today, it’s quite simply impossible to imagine a side sans Virat.
But to come to Virat’s rescue, it might be asked that just what good would’ve the phenomenon of a single Test possibly done to either of the teams? Surely for Afghanistan it would have been a watershed moment, the national cricketing outfit traveling to India for the first time ever. Although for India, the prospect of simply playing 5-days of Test cricket would anyways be rather inconclusive.
But the development also puts forth some interesting points for discussion. Who will be leading the Indian side in the absence of Virat Kohli? Will Cheteshwar Pujara stick to his number three or open the side, considering an out of form Murali Vijay- who looked a bit susceptible in South Africa- may be out making place for an in-form KL Rahul. On the other hand, will Stanikzai be back for Afghanistan. Regardless of 5 solitary days of Test cricket leaving room for further discussion and possibly the point that another Test wouldn’t really have hurt that much, it promises to be an exciting series.