'Absolute clarity in my heart': Kohli statement reveals reasons for surprise resignation

Particularly like the last few sentences. It's never a good thing when one person has too much control in cricket. We've had that over the years with Bradman, Ian Chappell, etc and it's only been by good luck things haven't got very ugly.

In test cricket, I would say Virat is a much better captain than Dhoni. The initial years of Dhoni's captaincy, Sehwag, Gambhir, Sach, Dravid, Laxman were there in the team and they had a great contribution. Once they retired, Dhoni struggled to replicate the success. He looked so helpless in tests at times. He did not have the energy that Virat showed in tests. Yes Dhoni is a great cricketing brain in shorter formats but tests, I would say Virat was better. And yeah, like you said, he had a large say - not just in selections, in everything. Basically he controlled everything in Indian cricket. The board and the management should not have let that happen in the first place.

Virat's captaincy had its pros and cons. What I love about TheRoar forum is people talking the game. Most social media is just bashing this way or the other without talking the finer aspects of the game. First, got to credit him for bringing in the energy on the field and keeping it throughout the game over multiple days. India did not have that before, atleast on that level, atleast to my knowledge. Second, raising the fitness standards of the team and he walked the talk. Third, giving the pace battery some aggression and the push. India had some decent quicks over the years - Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Ajit Agarkar etc. But they never played together in their prime. It was always one good fast bowler in form many a times. Virat understood what was needed in that department to be a strong team and encouraged what was needed. As an Indian cricket fan, can't thank and credit him enough for these things. Now the cons from my perspective. Virat Kohli was never a tactically sound captain. So how did he have such a success rate in all 3 formats? In tests, it was mainly his energy and enthusiasm which gave him that success. From the cricket that I have seen, test format needs that zest more than tactical brilliance to win games. I love test cricket, the best team always wins (atleast more than the shorter formats). Every test win looks deserving. And since it runs over multiple periods of time, there is a chance to comeback from a mistake. Yes the strategies help, but playing the best with the highest effort for a long time wins more often. And Virat had that energy and hence that success. In the shorter formats, more than his tactical brain, it was the pool of players. Whether people like IPL or not, it has brought in a huge pool of players unknown before. And since 2010 or so, the domestic cricket in India has grown leaps and bounds, the quality is high, the competition is really good. When players with more than 50 FC average are struggling to get into the team, you can imagine the pool and the quality in the bench. Virat's captaincy was very flawed in shorter formats and the success in bilateral series masked them. And he was not a guy to accept his flaws (he says the other way in interviews though and even if he accepted he did not change). I always knew his flaws would be exploited in the big tournaments and more so in the knockouts and oh boy, that's how it panned out. The best thing that happened to Indian cricket was the appointment of Anil Kumble as head coach. That man is a tactical genius. He himself was a great captain that India never got to see much, similar to Shane Warne. And what a success they had. And Kohli kicked him out. The biggest blunder in Virat's career I would say. Compare Anil who got angry losing the CT final versus Ravi who boasted that getting into semis is an achievement (he said that multiple times). There are 8-9 countries playing cricket at the highest level among which 3-5 teams will be out of form or building a team at any point of time. And this Ravi Shastri says semis is a great achievement and the team and fans can be proud of it. I knew this is not the right guy when I heard that. And those who question Anil's coaching credentials looking at Punjab Kings, we need to look at that team. The team has deeper problems from the management level to the players. KL, Pooran, Ravi, Shami, SRK - so many strong attitude players in one team was always going to hurt. Yes Kumble got some of his strategies wrong in the 11 and in the auction too. Having said that there were few positives for the team in the last couple of years. The team got some branding and following compared to earlier seasons. Harpreet Brar was a great find. Shami's evolution in the shortest format. The team was always in the reckoning for the playoffs, 1-2 close matches and the performance would have looked much better. Let's see what 2022 holds for them. Another flaw in Virat's cricket is running a one man show. When we talk about Windies of 70s and 80s or the Aussies of 90s and 00s, most players have their names etched in that piece of history. When it comes to Indian cricket under Virat, it always has been about him. Right from selecting the coach, players, style of play, everything had to be his way. The success, credits of many players got masked. In a team sport, this one man dominance will never achieve the peaks that the team can. Though he had a successful stint, it never can be compared to the Windies and Aussies of yore. I would say Indian media has also had a role in Indian cricket not progressing the way it should have been. Many a times, we give undue credit to the cricket stars. Most of our success is overrated and comparisons are drawn to the successes achieved in the past which are far higher peaks. The selection committees and the management have missed the services of certain deserving players. Having said all of this, is Virat Kohli the best test captain India has had until now? Yes. Has he achieved everything (all formats considered) that the team could achieve? No. I would say with the financial backing of BCCI, the infrastructure, the domestic structure and the pool of players we got, the team has underperformed. The 1 year of Virat and Kumble, I thought we will be seeing greater things going forward. I thought India could dominate the cricketing world like the Windies and Aussies of yore. But alas!

You know what was a black day for sportsmanship? When a host broadcaster starts focussing on opposition players when shining a cricket ball because they were annoyed their captain got caught on their last tour tampering with the ball. Is it a black day for sportsmanship when an entire crowd rocks up wearing masks of a man your wife slept with a decade ago? I feel for South Africa, being victims of Kohli's unsportsmanlike behaviour and attitude. Just let me go fetch the smallest violin I can find.

Oooh there was a SCG one dayer against the WIs 1990s that they lost against the trend. Both sides laughing on the field. If Windies won no last gate at the MCG. Kaching $

Cricket is worse off for not having VK leading India but his behavior has been, for the most, appalling. It's a shame that he couldn't mend his ways and kerb his immature overreactions when he doesn't get his own way. He really could be one of the GOATs if he put his mind to it.

I wonder who caught that at 45 seconds? :stoked:

By the way Micko here’s a clip of Marco Jansens twin brother bowling in domestic cricket . He will also play for South Africa. It’s an enticing prospect for us . Not so for our opposition. https://youtu.be/384JoodIrvk

By the way Micko here is a clip of Marco Jansens twin brother Duan bowling in a domestic game . He will also play for South Africa and for us it’s a wonderful prospect , not so for our opponents https://youtu.be/384JoodIrvk

My Agent Orange conspiratorialist bro believes crap like that. We don't talk anymore because of his manifest stupidity.

Ok not quite done yet . Ball tampering only exposed against touring sides ? ...moral of the story ....if you tour DONT tamper !

I don’t think so . He has Tendulkaresque status in India . Took India to nr 1 ranking and that win over Aus is the stuff of legends . Personally I know he rated a series win over In SA as the big fish that got away . This dissapointment is probably compounded by the fact that India had numerous opportunities to seal the series and blew it each time . I think this was a big downer for him and prompted his call .

Oh and it’s where 2 Oceans meet/collide . That’s also in the tourist brochures . Nowhere near true .

Kohli needs to be checked for Borderline PD, he literally has zero control over his emotions

Oh he cheated all right . Not defending his legacy , but thanks to his untimely “ accident “ we will never know just how much . We only know of 2 incidents , the early declaration against England when the game was dead anyway thanks to rain and where he convinced Gibbs and Williams to underperform in a match which Gibbs admitted he couldn’t carry out . Any other instances are frozen in time . .

Yes it really was given the circumstances. A host of rookie players , De Kock retiring , a new captain , Nortje our fastest quick injured , racism hearings against the coach , no red ball cricket in 6 months . I totally didn’t see this . Very good signs for the future .

Great signs for SA though JN. :thumbup: Some young next generation guys in this SA side. :cricket: Looking forward to the NZ series. :happy:

Just Nuisance, specific? Moi? I never let specifics get in the way of a good story! “All those” sounds a lot to you? I guess my grade 3 teacher would say that “all those” indicates a plural so could be only two or hundred. Anyway to butcher Donald Rumsfeld, “ there are the games we knew he threw, there are the games we didn’t know that he threw and there are the games we didn’t know that we didn’t know that he threw the game. Cheerio.

Just Nuisance... Specific? Moi? I never let the facts get in the way of a good story. But to misquote Donald Rumsfeld: there are the games that we knew he cheated, there are the games that we knew that we didn’t know he cheated, and then the games where we didn’t know we didn’t know he cheated. Cheerio.

Could you be a bit more specific about which matches Cronje threw. All those matches sounds like a lot ..