India’s former captain Virat Kohli recalled the time when he took over the Test captaincy baton from MS Dhoni in 2014 on the tour of Australia. Kohli took Indian cricket to new heights in the red-ball format and led from the front.
In his first Test match as captain at Adelaide, Kohli showed that his team won’t play for draws and they would only play with an intent to win at any cost. He scored twin centuries but Australia won by 48 runs when India was skittled out for 315 runs while chasing 364.
“The thing that excited me about Test cricket and when I had the chance to lead the Test side, was the challenge. We were transitioning then, when you guys had made way for a younger team, and Mahi bhai had left captaincy. For me it was like, I am 25 and I have this team of 24-25 year olds, and how do we become a team that become household names like you guys became,” Kohli told Gambhir in their interaction released by the BCCI.
Kohli added they needed good pacers and batters who could string a long innings to get the desired results in overseas conditions.
“When I started thinking from the point of view where Indian cricket has to be in seven years time, the solutions came. We needed good fast bowlers, batters who can bat long, needed to give ownership to the five batters and the keeper to get 350-400 runs,” he elaborated.
On the other hand, Gautam Gambhir admitted that Test cricket is the most challenging of the three formats and if one wants to judge someone’s personality and character, then the red-ball format is the right parameter.
“The best format in cricket, if you want to judge someone’s personality and character, is push him in Test cricket, and you will get to know everything about him. If we can build a culture where people come in and say that this is the priority, then that is it,” Gambhir said.
“When you spoke about having a strong red-ball team, a lot will depend on the next generation of bowlers. We will keep getting quality batters. Does the younger generation have the motivation to go out there and bowl 20 overs in Chennai’s heat? If you enjoy that, that is the only way you will be motivated to play red-ball cricket. For example, I spoke to Jasprit yesterday, he just wants to bowl,” he added.
The opening Test match between India and Bangladesh will be played at the Chepauk Stadium, Chennai from September 19.
