17 days into the new year, all the euphoria around the Indian cricket team has died down. The Virat Kohli-led side was on a high in 2017, thanks to their successes at home. Now, one away tour and all the hype around the "best" outfit is being questioned.
Yesterday (January 17), India lost the second Test, with that the three-match series, to South Africa in Centurion. Kohli was obviously disappointed. The skipper did not mince words as he asked his team-mates to be hard on themselves.
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India lost the opening Test in Cape Town by 72 runs and followed that with another disastrous batting performance at SuperSport Park, this time on a subcontinental pitch. The margin of defeat was more the double from Newlands ground, 135 runs. The third Test is in Johannesburg from January 24 and India need to bounce back.
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Kohli was asked some tough questions in the post-match press conference. He lost his cool at a couple of journalists. And when it was asked about looking beyond the current group to try and succeed in foreign conditions, the Delhi batsman said he would discuss everything with the selectors.
"We will have to sit down and discuss those things," Kohli replied when asked whether there was a temptation to talk to India A coach Rahul Dravid and search for new players.
He continued, "It doesn't feel nice that you come out and feel good as a team and then you are not able to execute what you want to. It almost has to be a madness to be able to win away from home. And you have to live every minute, every day being on tour. As I said it is very individual thing but we need to discuss that as a team for sure."
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) three-man selection panel, led by MSK Prasad will "come into the conversation", said Kohli.
"I can't speak on behalf of the selectors what they are thinking. Obviously the selectors will come into the conversation as well, looking at what we need to plan for future tours also because we have lot of cricket away from home. This was not the only tour. We have to identify all the areas which need improvement and accordingly act on those. Obviously the selectors are going to be a big part of that conversation," he explained.
It will be a busy schedule for India as they travel to England for five Test and are also set to tour Australia at the end of the year.
