Kohli's decision to call it quits has been coming for a while now

Kohli’s captaincy has been on a decline for a while now. For that matter, his batting too has taken a fair bit of beating with no centuries to show in the last two years across formats. The South Africa series saw Kohli clutching at straws for a last bit of redemption, but that too was denied. Kohli’s open-confrontation with the BCCI just before the South Africa series also seemed to portray that he was very sure of what the outcome would be of the series. And that just about sums up how Kohli’s decision-making has been over the years.

Of course, there was this much mellowed version of Kohli during the just concluded Test series against the Proteas. Partly, because of the calming influence of Rahul Dravid as coach and partly because of his own lack of runs as a premier batsman of his team. However, Kohli was in his ‘elements’ on the penultimate day of the series when he seemingly crossed the line by venting his frustration on the stump microphone. Doubtless, it was unbecoming of a Test captain and more so from a player who is so passionate about Test cricket. Kohli definitely didn’t earn anything by such an improper display of his poor conduct on the field when the whole world was watching him on TV. Not that Kohli’s behaviour over the years has been exemplary for the young kids but this one was pretty disappointing from a player who has become so colossal in international cricket.

It is also unlikely that Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara both will ever feature together in a Test match. Certainly, not Rahane after his horrendous run with the bat (an average of 20 and just 500 runs since the beginning of 2021). There is one school of thought that argues that India shouldn’t be in hurry to say goodbye to Pujara along with Rahane as it will put unnecessary burden on the Test middle order. That may not be the case. Rohit Sharma and Kohli are veterans in this batting line-up and KL Rahul is no longer a youngster. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman’s last match in red-ball cricket was against Australia in January 2012 in Adelaide. Both were the backbone of India’s middle order for over a decade. Similarly, Dravid and Sourav Ganguly made their debut together in England in 1996 and Sanjay Manjrekar and Navjot Singh Sidhu never gain played Test cricket. In his customary post-match press conference Kohli was trying to defend both of his colleagues but he too knows that a debate is also gaining ground over his diminishing power as a superlative batsman. Maybe, it is time for Kohli to rediscover his mojo as a Test batsman.