A Look At The Indian Playing XI In Virat Kohli's First Test As A Captain: Where Are They Now?

Virat Kohli played his first match as Indian Test captain in the Border-Gavaskar series in 2014. MS Dhoni passed on the captaincy baton to a young and dynamic Kohli back then. He scored centuries in both innings but still could not prevent India from losing the game by 48 runs chasing 364 to win at Adelaide. Kohli led India in the first and the last of the four-match Test series.

Eight years down the line, Virat Kohli has given up on Test captaincy winning 40 games from 68 matches that he led India in. He also maintained a winning percentage of 58.82 and scored 5864 runs with 20 centuries as captain.

In this article, we will take a look at the playing XI from the game in Adelaide where Virat Kohli led India for the very first time in Test matches.

A Look At The Indian Playing XI In Virat Kohli’s First Test As A Captain: Where Are They Now?

Murali Vijay

Vijay scored 53 and 99 in that particular game in Adelaide. However, despite his best efforts, he could not prevent India from losing the Test match. The Chennai batsman played 61 Test matches for India so far and was a regular member of the Test side between 2014-2018. He even was a part of the Indian team that toured South Africa in 2018. However, in recent times he has fell out of favour after playing his last Test in 2018.

Shikhar Dhawan

Dhawan in recent times only plays white-ball cricket for India. He is a part of the Indian ODI squad which has been named for the three-match series against South Africa. He recently led a second-string Indian team in an ODI and T20I series in Sri Lanka in July last year.

Cheteshwar Pujara

Pujara who was once compared to Rahul Dravid in the Indian Test XI has lost all his form in recent times. He is still a part of the team but the South Africa series might just be his last given his performances in the series. He could only score 124 runs in 6 innings at an average of 20.66. Pujara scored just one half-century scoring 53 runs, which was his highest score in 6 innings.

Virat Kohli

The former Indian Test skipper scored 115 and 141 in the two innings of the Adelaide Test. India yet lost the Test match by 48 runs. Eight years down the line, he is now India’s most successful Test skipper with 40 wins in 68 Test matches. He steps down as captain scoring 5864 runs as captain, the most among all Indian captains.

Also Read: Virat Kohli Has Taken The Decision To Relinquish The Test Captaincy After A Lot Of Thinking – Rajkumar Sharma

Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane like Pujara might see his final days as a Test cricketer for India. He has been out of form for a very long time now and the Indian team has potential replacements waiting to replace both Rahane and Pujara. The 112 he scored in Melbourne last year, remains his most important contribution in Test matches in the last two years. In this series, Rahane scored 136 runs in 6 innings at an average of 22.66.

Also Read: IND vs SA Tests- India Squad Rating

Rohit Sharma

Rohit scored 43 and six in that Adelaide Test match. Eight years down the line, he is now the Indian white-ball skipper. The BCCI named his the white-ball skipper while announcing the Indian squad for the South Africa Test series. He is also being seen as India’s next Test captain with Kohli having stepped down. The BCCI will have to announce the next Indian Test skipper before the Sri Lanka series at home which begins from February 25.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma Set To Return For Home Series vs West Indies – Reports

Wriddhiman Saha

Saha has lost his spot to Rishabh Pant who has come up with impactful performances for the Indian team in the last couple of years. He plays more often whenever Pant is injured or there are multiple injuries in the team. Ageing 37, Saha is nearing the end of his Test career. He has played 40 Test matches so far with the last of them against New Zealand in Mumbai in December last year.

Karn Sharma

The Test match in Adelaide remains his one and only Test match for India. He is a forgotten name in the Indian national team circuit at the moment and plays very few games in the IPL as well. Interestingly, Sharma has been a part of IPL title-winning squads with SRH, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

Mohammed Shami

Shami is now among the premier pacers in world cricket. Along with Jasprit Bumrah, he is India’s most potent weapon with the ball in Test matches. He went past 200 Test wickets in the Test series against South Africa. He is not a part of the Indian ODI squad which will play a three-match ODI series against the Proteas.

Ishant Sharma

Ishant has played many Test matches under Virat Kohli’s captaincy and became one of India’s legendary bowlers. He picked just one wicket in that Adelaide Test match. Eight years down the line, he has played 105 Test matches for India, picking 305 wickets. his last Test match was against New Zealand in Kanpur in December last year.

Varun Aaron

Like Karn Sharma, Varun Aaron now is a forgotten name in the Indian cricket circle. When he first appeared on the scene in 2011, he was considered as the next big thing in Indian cricket given his pace. Over time, limited opportunities shortened his international career. He made his Test debut in 2011 for India and played his last Test in 2015. In that Adelaide Test match, he gave away 179 runs picking just 3 wickets to cap off a forgetful outing.

Also Read: IND vs SA ODI: 3 Indian Players Who Might Come As A Surprise Package For South Africa