Yuvraj Singh was in the reckoning before anyone else, says Virat Kohli

What’s the story?

An established veteran has given way to a rising superstar to chart his own superstardom. With MS Dhoni relinquishing his captaincy from both ODIs and T20Is, a ‘delighted’ Virat Kohli now has control over the team in all three formats, starting with the first ODI against England in Pune.

“I would like to take the bulk of the responsibility now and let others express themselves around me,” Kohli said during his first press conference after taking over as captain of the T20I and ODI squads as well.

In case you didn’t know...

MS Dhoni stepped down from the limited-overs captaincy at the turn of the new year, giving Kohli the reins of all the three formats. Kohli’s assignment as in-charge of the Men in Blue begins with the ODI series against England.

Speaking about Dhoni’s style of captaincy, Kohli conceded that the 35-year old had been successful because he managed to find the right balance between being offensive and understanding the game.

“He has been successful because he has managed to find the balance between been offensive and understanding and how to slow things down. I would like to understand that too. You need to have more composure. Having played a lot of ODI cricket, I have had a good understanding of what I would do as a batsman”.

Talking about Dhoni’s role as a batsman now, Kohli said:

“He has played a lot of limited overs matches. He will not have the extra burden of taking over responsibilities. Sometimes, it can restrict you as a batsman. He will be able to express himself as a batsman now. He is a very smart cricketer. He will be able to play with a bit more assurance and freedom. I am not saying that he will go out and slog every ball. He will be able to experiment more”.

The heart of the matter

The 28-year old spoke elaborately about the selection of veterans to give the right mix to the team, none more so than Yuvraj Singh, who made his comeback into the team after more than three years.

“We cannot leave so much burden on MS (Dhoni) alone. There needs to be one more guy. MS has been guiding the youngsters, which is fine if you have 15-20 games to a big tournament, but if you have only three games, you need to get all your resources in place. Right now we don’t have time to nurture: that’s why Yuvi was brought into the team”.

“We thought of Rayudu as well, but he had been injured and did not have much of game time behind him. Yuvi has had a really good first class season. Hardik and Kedar can learn a lot from them”.

Talking about the players skipping the practise sessions, Kohli said that there are no injury concerns at all. “Everyone is available for selection”.

He also spoke about the DRS, and who takes the decision now that MS Dhoni is not the captain, Kohli said:

“I read somewhere that 95 % of the appeals Dhoni has made have been successful. As a captain, I have no extra thinking about this: he has been very smart with decision making. He is one word I will trust as far as DRS is concerned”.

Speaking on Shikhar Dhawan’s dwindling Test form, and his journey back into the team after injury, Kohli said:

“Situations always change, especially the cricketers’ form and performances. Everyone is aware of Dhawan’s ability. You need to keep him in a good head space, because once he is clear, he can really take the game away. It is better to leave him to his own planning, because he is so instinctive. He possesses a lot of quality and ability to set up the game”.

Talking about the other openers, and how the team management has a happy headache of choosing two out of three, Kohli said:

“Ajinkya Rahane found his rhythm in the warm-up games. Rahul is coming off from almost a double hundred at Chennai. So we’ll have to figure out who fits in the combination, but they are all in a good space, which makes my job easy”. What’s next?

Talking about the series and what relevance it holds before the start of the Champions Trophy, Kohli was clear to state that they will look to win each of the three games.

“We are taking them as knock-out games. The Champions Trophy is a very competitive tournament. We need to be at our best from game one. Hence, we are taking these matches as preparation for the CT in England. We won’t be experimenting much. We have only three games, we will select the best batting combination possible and stick with it”.

Talking about MS Dhoni now becoming the elderly statesman in the team, Kohli said:

“Everyone has their own way of expressing themselves as captain and operating things on the field. Me and MS have this understanding: it doesn’t make anything difficult because I have given my thoughts when he was the captain. His views will be priceless - I will be in charge of decisions, but he will be giving his views”.

About his own captaincy, he said:

“I was delighted to be given captaincy, it is something that I have always liked. I personally feel good now, but if the burden is too much, in the future, I will be able to assess it much more. It gives me more opportunities to take Indian cricket forward”.

Sportskeeda’s take

The series gives a number of players the opportunity to cement their place in the first XI, especially considering the fact that the middle order is choc-a-bloc with batsmen who are itching to perform. For players like Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, it is a golden chance to roll back the years in the final leg of their respective careers, now that they have more freedom to express themselves.