[vinit]

Virat need to learn few things and the faster he learns them the better it is for him. Being aggressive and showing aggressive are two totally different things. Viv Richards was very very aggressive but I dont remember him being involved in a verbal spat with opponents. Even Sachin and Lara were very aggressive but they were aggressive in their batting. Rest they were thorough gentlemen. Claiming and boasting your own team as the best travelling team and then losing like this, without any fight, takes off all the credibility and it really becomes a laughing stock.

[mahesh_sn]

Originally Posted by msdivy

I cannot fathom how a spinner (Lyon) can take 8 wickets in the match against 'The World's Best Spin Playing Team' but the best spin team doesn't field a single spinner in the match

In my books we have lost that tag long ago after the retirement of Fab Five (sachin, dravid, sehwag, laxman, ganguly). We are no longer the best players of spin. Moin Ali did in England what Lyon did in Australia. And it all boils down to the emergence of T20 where patience is a vice than a virtue

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by vinit

Virat need to learn few things and the faster he learns them the better it is for him. Being aggressive and showing aggressive are two totally different things. Viv Richards was very very aggressive but I dont remember him being involved in a verbal spat with opponents. Even Sachin and Lara were very aggressive but they were aggressive in their batting. Rest they were thorough gentlemen. Claiming and boasting your own team as the best travelling team and then losing like this, without any fight, takes off all the credibility and it really becomes a laughing stock.

I don't understand this clamor to change Virat. Let him be what he is. Let everybody be what they are. Why do they have to change just to please some people? How about having some diversity, some colorful character, some uniqueness? Players have their idiosyncrasies. Why can't we live with that? In sport you win some and you lose some. That's part and parcel of playing the game. I fear this kind of witch hunting might take away his game from him and the loser in the end will be India only.

Very very few teams are winning anything while traveling these days. India used to suck pretty badly in the past. At least we are competitive now.

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by vinit

Virat need to learn few things and the faster he learns them the better it is for him. Being aggressive and showing aggressive are two totally different things.

So very true. Sachin would humiliate bowlers with his batting but no one can claim than he was not a gentleman. Viraat needs to learn that he can be full of aggression without showering expletives. What's the point of being verbally aggressive when actions don't match words.

[srishiva]

Well, I think Paine already caused Pain to Virat by telling 'you will be batting last, bighead'. Combine that with what he was saying to Vijay about him, he will become laughing stock if the team does not win.
I remember him saying he has changed and all that blah blah. Maybe he cant.

Coming to the team's performance, the way they succumbed today was embarrassing. Compare that to Australia in the last test. Except bowling who also pitched too short all the time, batting has been really bad. Looking at both team's none of the tests are going to be drawn. We have a joker as a coach and we can very well guess the what the result could be.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by joslicx

I don't understand this clamor to change Virat. Let him be what he is.

I agree. It's who he is, that's fine. Frankly, it's good that the Aussies and Brits get some of their own medicine back and Virat seems the guy to give them a dose of that. Since he also backs up his aggression with performance I think it's fine that he's aggressive...on the FIELD.

What needs to change is the leeway he seems to have to run everything his way. For that the coach needs to change and Kohli needs to be told in no uncertain terms that he needs to take direction from a strong coach. Which means taking recommendations on strategy, team selection and on not getting aggressive with journalists and fans!

[rovingeye]

Even I think Kohli is getting a little cocky. Being in the news all the time could be a good ploy to keep the ad contracts flowing. But, if you're in the news for the wrong reasons, this strategy can back fire very easily.

I wonder how Virat feels about the following picture now, having been fed some humble pie by the weakes Oz side in history.



Whose the big dog now, Virat? Huh?

[NPV]

This is the kind of stubborn denial that has become a hallmark for this team headed by Kohli and coached by Shastri - http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/...vneshwar-kumar

I'm sure we can live without such statements. The whole world knew the selection of final 11 went horribly wrong in the just concluded second test, all commentators (most of them former players and captains who are respected in the cricketing world for their contributions as players) were unanimous in calling this out. Despite this, Kohli says he'd still have gone with such a team even if Ashwin had been fit for selection

As for the aggression and gamesmanship part including sledging, as long as it doesn't get personal it's ok, the Aussies are known to do that to mentally destabilize their opponents. But, at the same time, the performances and results must also reflect the effectiveness of the aggression (that's the whole reason for it) and when that doesn't happen, one cuts a sorry figure as seen in this case with Paine and Kohli+Vijay, clearly Tim Paine had the last laugh.

[suku_patel_22]

Originally Posted by mahesh_sn

In my books we have lost that tag long ago after the retirement of Fab Five (sachin, dravid, sehwag, laxman, ganguly). We are no longer the best players of spin. Moin Ali did in England what Lyon did in Australia. And it all boils down to the emergence of T20 where patience is a vice than a virtue

It is also because the national team doesn't play any kind of domestic cricket. Domestic cricket helps in keeping the reflexes for spin in good shape.

The players you mention are in a different league altogether! If we had the current pace attack in the previous era, it would probably have been India with all the records rather than Australia.

Then the bowling let us down, and its the batting now. To start things off, we need a couple of good openers.

[snaseer]

Some reports are suggesting Kohli sledged Paine by telling," I am the best batsmen in the world whereas you are just a stand in captain ! "

[extreme_torque]

Even the Aussie media is talking about the selection blunder for not including Jadeja instead of Yadav and the banter between the two captains.
https://www.news.com.au/sport/cricke...c3c360fe93f6b7

[Oxy]

On top of all this, we have infighting now as well.

https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/sports...892-2018-12-18

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by joslicx

In sport you win some and you lose some. That's part and parcel of playing the game. I fear this kind of witch hunting might take away his game from him and the loser in the end will be India only.

Very very few teams are winning anything while traveling these days. India used to suck pretty badly in the past. At least we are competitive now.

I agree, we win some and we lose some.

And it's perfectly alright to lose, even if you lose the series or even if you're white-washed!

But what I can't stand is that our team just folded. We barely lasted an hour on the 5th day. We just threw away 5 wickets. Where was the fight? And I have the same questions for the team when they toured England and South Africa.

There was no fight or resilience from any of the players, barring Kohli and maybe Pujara and Vihari. Rahane showed us glimpses of brilliance but they were only glimpses.

For example, in the 1st innings, we were in a commanding position at 220-230 odd for 4. We could have gotten much closer to the target or maybe even surpassed it, had Rahane stuck around for a little longer. Instead, we scored about 50 runs and threw away 6 wickets. That was the turning point in the game for me!

I still remember a touring India in NZ where Gambhir literally played with a dead bat for 3 sessions straight and we salvaged a draw. I don't see that kind of resilience in any of the players today, barring Pujara.

And as for the attitude of the Indian players, the less said the better.

I mean, it's perfectly alright to be aggressive. Sledge, if you must! But back it up with some substance!

Individual achievements are worth zilch when your team continues to fail. And being the skipper, his responsibility is not to just score hundreds and set the field. It's a lot more than that!

I hate to say this and it pains me to no end, but I feel the purple patch that Kohli is wallowing in at the moment is the reason for his arrogance. What he needs is a humbling experience. Nobody is larger than the game. Not Lara, not Tendulkar, not Bradman and certainly not Kohli!

Originally Posted by snaseer

Some reports are suggesting Kohli sledged Paine by telling," I am the best batsmen in the world whereas you are just a stand in captain ! "

This is just shocking and totally unprofessional.

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by joslicx

I don't understand this clamor to change Virat. Let him be what he is. Let everybody be what they are. Why do they have to change just to please some people?

I guess its because its the 'Indian' team and they are representing India. How can some be whatever they want ?

[landcruiser123]

I don't think that India made a mistake in selection. I think we let go in the crucial points of the game as usual i.e. let the tail score.

About Virat- I think he should be allowed to do whatever he wants as long as he's within limits. What concerns me is that he expects all 10 other players to be like him- someone like Rahane or a Pujara is very soft-spoken all the time. This is where Dhoni was a better caption- he let people do whatever they want.

Virat is not the right influence for young kids and teenagers who are budding cricketers- it's the gentleman's game.