Virat Kohli: Slot for India's opening batsmen is tricky but good

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KL Rahul

The last time Virat Kohli came to Colombo after a Galle Test match he was licking his wounds, having presided over a defeat after his team had dominated the game for the vast majority of the Test match. This time around, he has the luxury of being 1-0 up ahead of the second Test, at the Sinhalese Sports Club Grounds, starting on
Thursday.

But, the scoreline is not the only reversal of fortunes that Kohli has to contend with. On India's tour in 2015, the team had to press Cheteshwar Pujara into service as an opener by the final Test, with both Shikhar Dhawan and M Vijay unable to take the field.

Shikhar Dhawan

Rahul back in business?
Now, KL Rahul, who missed the first Test because of a viral fever, is fit to play once more, while the Dhawan and Abhinav Mukund duo have done more than enough to keep their places. Dhawan cracked a pacy 190 in the first innings of the Galle Test while Mukund scored a vital 81 in the second dig, in addition to being a livewire under the helmet, effecting at least two dismissals from nowhere.

It's worth remembering that Mukund was the original member of the squad, while Dhawan was added when Vijay was ruled out at the last moment. It's also important to note that Rahul had six fifties in seven innings in the home series against Australia before picking up a shoulder injury that required surgery and kept him out of the mix for half a year.

Abhinav Mukund

Kohli admitted that the decision would be anything but easy. "Yes, it's a very tricky situation. We've got a fourth guy (Vijay) who's a regular opener for India but is not fit. We've got all four openers firing now. Shikhar was supposed to go to Melbourne, now he's got a 190 in Galle. "Let's see how we decide on these things in the next three days. It's going to be tough, but it's a situation that you'd like to be in any day rather than having guys that are not scoring. I'm happy for both these guys who've done well. Rahul is obviously a champion player as well, so we'll have to eventually take a call on who plays in the next Test and I'm sure the third guy will understand whatever the call is taken by the team."

Virat Kohli

One has to miss out
It is calls such as these that tell you the true mettle of a captain. When all is going well, teams are picking themselves, bowlers doing their job and batsmen piling on the runs, it is easy to turn up for the toss and call heads or tails. But, on the morning of the second Test, or perhaps earlier, Kohli will have to make a decision purely on instinct, after taking inputs from his coaching team and senior players.

All of Rahul, Dhawan and Mukund have very good reasons to believe they should be facing the new ball in the second Test. However, one of these three will necessarily be carrying drinks and watching the action from the dressing room. Just who that will be, comes down to Kohli, and you would not want to be in his shoes at the moment, even if the problem he has is one of plenty.

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