Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma rift rumours put captaincy in spotlight

What is for real is that for the first time after taking over as captain of India in all formats, Kohli will be under observation.
Was Kohli a bit too much on the front foot while claiming there is nothing wrong? | AP
Was Kohli a bit too much on the front foot while claiming there is nothing wrong? | AP

CHENNAI: Type the word 'rift' in google or Twitter. You got it right! Most of the finds come with a picture of Virat Kohli. After he denied categorically any distance growing between him and Rohit Sharma, speculation is still rife.

If not anything else and even if he tries to wish it away, chances are high that there will be distractions in his mind when he leads the team on the tour of West Indies, supposed to be a series where some rebuilding is expected to start.

This is the flip side of stardom. Each step celebrities take and everything they say is fodder for mass interpretation. So even if Kohli insists he hasn't done or said anything which should cause a gap between him and his limited-overs vice-captain, the audience is sceptical.

Reactions range from 'he may not have spoken the truth' to 'he did not speak the truth'. Few are ready to accept that he may honestly have found such talk "baffling" and "ridiculous".

Was Kohli a bit too much on the front foot while claiming there is nothing wrong? Did he get a little too deep in his explanation of the situation? 

"I've often praised Rohit because he deserves it". 

"We are trying so hard to build a team and people are looking at other things". 

Had a simple 'no' to all those questions not sufficed? Or did he get so seriously upset that he became a bit emotional? One can only speculate.

What is for real is that for the first time after taking over as captain of India in all formats, Kohli will be under observation. Not the player obviously.

Everybody knows he is the best batsman of this team by a distance and the most committed fielder. But it's his leadership that will be scrutinised. Buried under his runs all this while, it has surfaced after the World Cup that he may not be that good a skipper after all. 

Talks of a rift between Kohli and Rohit assume bigger significance considering the fact that the latter is a contender to lead the limited-overs sides. Split captaincy, with Kohli at the helm in Test cricket only, is a possibility.

Not welcome in India till very recently, different captains for different formats is neither new nor uncommon. England have had success following this formula. The current Australian team also has such an arrangement.

In India, people were resistant to it for a long time, but some sort thought revision seems to have taken place. Nobody has spoken about it publicly yet, but if the grapevine is to be believed, this concept has been discussed.

One can ask what is wrong with the captain if the team has a 56-19 win-loss record under him in one-day cricket? This is a formidable winning percentage of 74.66 and Kohli's contribution in them as a batsman is also very high. 

The argument against this is, a lot of the captaincy at crucial junctures is done by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. It's he who sets fields, instructs bowlers and often makes bowling changes, while Kohli patrols the boundary lines. This, effectively, deducts vital marks from what Kohli scores as captain.

And then, Kohli's team selection has always been questionable, be it in Tests or limited-over games. If players are to be believed, he is adamant on this as well and refuses to take into confidence anyone other than chief coach Ravi Shastri.

That what they decide is not always prudent became clear in the World Cup, where the middle-order remained in a perpetual state of uncertainty. Because the team has a good record under him, these questions were not asked earlier. Now, they have become more audible.

Rohit's emergence as a responsible member of the team and his impressive captaincy record in the IPL has presented an alternative. When Kohli took over following Dhoni's decision to relinquish, there was nobody else who could even be thought of as captain. 

That situation has changed following the rise in Rohit's stature and some favourable campaign highlighting the positive sides of his captaincy. It's not as if there is not anybody else anymore.

There is no reason to think that Kohli is unaware of all this. Players have their informers and almost everybody tries to keep track of what is happening and what is being said.

More than rift, it's possible that a sense of insecurity is clogging Kohli's mind at the moment. But then, he remains the skipper in all three formats as of now.

That way, his destiny is still in his hands. If he keeps delivering and the team wins, chances are high that all other talk will disappear.

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