India’s newly-appointed captain Virat Kohli is set to make an aggressive statement by dropping out of form opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara. According to some media reports, Virat Kohli is not happy with Shikhar Dhawan on a personal front as well. Dhawan reportedly stood up to him in a heated exchange in Brisbane, and this led to a lot speculations in the media.
Virat Kohli, who is known for his aggressive brand of cricket, is wasting no time in making his intentions clear with opener Dhawan and middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara expected to be dropped for the fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), reports heraldsun.com.au.
Both, Dhawan and Pujara have struggled to get going in the series and Kohli wants to give opportunity to the reserves who have been patiently for their chance.
According to some media reports, Virat Kohli is looking to experiment with the batting order by promoting Rohit Sharma to the no. 3 spot and KL Rahul to his preferred opening spot. India’s middle-order batsman Suresh Raina might also be considered as he will offer a decent spinning option on SCG’s turning surface.
While there were lots of speculations about who will replace whom, Shikhar Dhawan, who was also criticised for not going out to bat in the second Test’s fourth morning leaving Kohli exposed to the field of play without much preparation, remained the center talking point.
Although, the fourth and the final Test is a dead rubber, Virat Kohli would want his team to step up and play with a positive frame of mind, as all eyes will be on his captaincy and how different he can be from MS Dhoni, who has a pathetic record in overseas Test matches.
It’s important for the players to know that we need to be in a positive frame of mind, a line doesn’t need to be crossed,” Kohli told reporters at the SCG.
“But we are not here to back down from any sort of confrontation or any sort of battle,” Kohli added.
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By The Cricket Lounge
