'When Dhawan gets going, he can do what Sehwag did': Virat Kohli

Fatullah: Mighty impressed with Shikhar Dhawan after his blazing 173 in the one-off Test against Bangladesh, India skipper Virat Kohli today said that the opener has it in him to replicate the swashbuckling Virender Sehwag at the top. [caption id=“attachment_2290148” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Dhawan’s form is crucial for the way Kohli wants his team to play, as the capt said post-match. AFP[/caption] “For Shikhar, we were always confident that if he gets going in Test matches, he can do what Viru paaji (Sehwag) used to do because he is one player who can turn the session around. Hopefully, he will carry the confidence of this game into other series in future,” said Kohli at the end of the fifth and final day’s play. Sehwag has not played for India since 2013 when he was dropped from both Test and ODI sides. India settled for a draw against an edgy Bangladesh in the rain-marred one-off Test, which was interrupted by downpours on all five days. But Kohli felt his boys, especially the bowlers, gave their 100 per cent in whatever opportunity they got. “This is the way we want to play cricket. Just that we had just two days of proper cricket. One good thing to come out is the intensity shown in bowling. Everybody bowled with a lot of intent. That’s what we wanted to do as a team and we did that, so the credit goes to the bowlers who were willingness to do everything despite hot and humid conditions.” “There were no excuses and as a captain that was very pleasing,” said Kohli. Heaping praise on the spin twin – Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin – Kohli said it was exciting to watch the two bowlers perform. “Both are quality bowlers. Bhajji has got more than 400 wickets and Ashwin has been bowling well for us in last one year. Watching them bowl together was exciting as a captain. I would like to have players who can win us games and both of them certainly have that ability,” he said. “I am very happy for Harbhajan, he has won so many games for India. He is a proven match winner and we know he can win us games at any stage. He bowled really well in this game.” “Ashwin is priceless. We won’t get anybody better than him, he understands the game well and as a captain you don’t have tell him much,” said the skipper. The aggressive batsman re-iterated his liking for six batsmen and five bowlers theory. “I am a big fan of playing five bowlers. I would always like someone like Ashwin, who is averaging 40 with the bat and someone like Harbhajan, who is also good with the bat. Bowlers should also know a bit of batting.” “Basically it is up to the top six (batsmen) to take more responsibility and we are confident of taking that responsibility.” The new skipper said his team responded well to his thoughts. “When I captained for the first time, I was aggressive and wanted to go for the win because that’s how you enjoy the game. That’s what helps ensure intensity. We have an understanding in the team that no matter what the situation, the intensity should be there. The credit goes to the team for responding to this thought.” With more than 250 overs lost during the entire duration of the match, the visitors must have felt unlucky that they didn’t even get three full days of cricket which could have decisively tilted the match in their favour. Asked if the scheduling could have been better, Kohli said: “You can’t control the weather and I don’t think anybody can plan the schedule according to whether it will rain or not. You just schedule the games and carry on if it rains and play whatever the part is available to you.” “Being an international sportsperson, you always don’t have conditions perfect to play in.” Kohli termed Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s absence in the dressing room as a “strange feeling”. “It is a strange feeling. It is like when Sachin Tendulkar retired, we felt pretty strange for the next few games because suddenly we don’t see a very impactful player in the dressing room. He has really helped a lot of us youngsters become good international cricketers,” he concluded. PTI