Virat Kohli, long regarded heir apparent to 33-year-old Dhoni,
confirmed he would lead India into the first Test against Australia in Adelaide
starting on Tuesday. Virat Kohli is determined to make his mark as captain of
India, if only for one Test as regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni recovers
from a thumb injury on the sidelines.
"I am personally going to go with whatever my gut feel is,
& I'm going to set fields according to what I feel. So you might see things
quite different from what you usually see. I'm someone who usually goes with
what I feel, so it might look funny -- but as long as it's effective” Kohli
told reporters at Adelaide Oval on Monday..
A steely-eyed batsman, the Delhi-born 26-year-old wears heart on
his sleeve and presents a stark contrast to the more measured Dhoni, whose
outwardly tranquil nature has been seen by Indian pundits as a both a blessing
and a curse in pressure situations. After India crumbled to a 3-1 series loss
in England, Dhoni's captaincy is under the microscope in Australia, where his
team were whitewashed 4-0 on the last tour in 2011-12.
India have never won a Test series in Australia but Kohli proved
in his rookie season in the side that he had the temperament to thrive on the
fast and bouncy wickets Down Under, scoring 75 on a ferocious WACA deck in
Perth followed by a defiant 116 in Adelaide
Kohli also found himself on the wrong side of fans on that tour
and was fined for making an offensive hand gesture at them at the SydneyCricket Ground.
"I don't mind a fight. I don't mind a bit of chat on the
field. A bit of banter. I don't mind all that," who is likely to be
targeted by Australia's rowdier supporters. It probably makes me more
determined. I'm pretty focused all the time, but that's an added spice that I
like. Last time around I enjoyed it. It was too aggressive for me initially...
but after a few incidents I figured out there's no other way of playing in
Australia, so I'll just be myself." said Kohli.
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