Virat Kohli’s men triumphed in the Test series in Sri Lanka against a rebuilding host last season, but West Indies in its backyard could prove a Tougher Adversary.
How times change! When India toured the West Indies for a Test series in 2011, a young man went through a harrowing period. The West Indian scribes in the media box were barely able to conceal their laughter when the home quicks bounced at Virat Kohli. Fidel Edwards, of that sling-arm action, would torment Kohli in particular with his speed and awkward lift. Kohli, often airborne and out of position while negotiating those fliers, would be picked up in the leg cordon.
It’s Circa 2016 now and Kohli, among the finest batsmen in world cricket, is leading the Indian team for a four-Test series in the Caribbean. The turn around in Kohli’s career has been astonishing. Now he’s a pathfinder for Indian cricket. The focussed, determined and talented young man used adversity as a motivating force to shatter barriers.
And Kohli will have the formidable Anil Kumble as the head coach to guide him and the team.
On his first campaign with the team in a new role, Kumble, a serial scalp hunter and a respected leader of men in his time, will surely pass on a wealth of knowledge to his side. He would also be a demanding task master, not being someone who could settle for anything less than one hundred per cent from his men.
And Who can Forget Kumble’s brave and timeless act of bowling with a broken jaw in Antigua in 2002? His face bandaged, Kumble caught the imagination of all with his courage as he bounded in to bowl in the fourth Test of the series. Despite the pain he was in, Kumble operated with skill and intensity, dismissing the great Brian Lara with a telling delivery. Such a ferocious competitor would expect nothing but the best from his men.
Given the combative streak in both, Kumble and Kohli should hit it off. Kumble would also seek to temper Kohli's aggression while retaining the cutting edge of his game and approach
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