Mahela Jayawardene praises captain Virat Kohli 

What’s the story?

Former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene has heaped praise on Indian captain for his captaincy and demeanour both and on and off the field.

"Look he is a proactive captain. He is very aggressive. He has a brilliant record to start with, though most of the games were played in India, you still have to win matches. He has led the team from the front so the rest of the boys are following him on and off the field. The test for them now will be playing away from home," Jayawardene was as quoted by India Today.

He also spoke about the Sri Lankan side and said that the team played under a lot of pressure and failed defeat which has cornered them and they are not willing play with any positivity or freedom.

The details

Mahela also praised the growth of Hardik Pandya as an all-rounder and called him an amazing talent as he has the ability to bowl at 130-135 kph and also has all the capabilities with the bat to be a destructive player.

Jayawardene who coached Pandya at Mumbai Indians believes his form has given the Indian team the perfect balance across all formats.

The Sri Lankan legend praised the Indian management for creating a good nucleus of players who are not afraid to express themselves which has also created a healthy competition within the group.

In case you didn’t know...

India blanked Sri Lanka 3-0 in the 3-match Test series and such was the domination of the Kohli-led side that the hosts did not have a smidgen of a chance in all the 3 matches, so much so, that captain Dinesh Chandimal even called the series the worst of his career.

The picture did not improve too much in the first match of the ODI series which the Indian team won by 9 with more than 21 overs to spare.

What's next?

India will now take on Sri Lanka in the 2nd match of the series on August 24 and it would be interesting to see how Sri Lanka respond after the hammering they received in the first match.

Also, considering the fact that the Indian team wants to rotate and try out players before the next world cup, the combination of the visitors too would be keenly watched.

Author's Take

There is little doubt that Virat Kohli could not have scripted a better start to his captaincy in all the 3 formats but he will know that the real test now lies when the Indian team travels away from the subcontinent.

Having said that, Jayawardene is right when he said that the nucleus of this Indian team looks solid as is the competition for places which only bodes well for the team.