India vs England: Is Kohli ready to lead Team India if Dhoni steps down from Tests?

Zee Media Bureau/ Suyash Srivastava

New Delhi: After yet another humiliating loss at the hands of England, the knives are out yet again for MS Dhoni, who many believe should bear the brunt for the 3-1 annihilation. But the question is, if the Indian skipper steps down, is Virat Kohli – India`s captain-in-waiting, ready to lead the Indian team which has been doing poorly overseas? Considering his phenomenal run in all the formats over the years, Kohli has earned the reputation of not only being India`s most consistent batsman, but also as someone, who has the potential to lead the Indian team in the future. But the five-match Test series in England has come at a point, when the experts aren`t too happy with MS Dhoni`s captaincy, while Kohli witnessed one of the roughest patches of his Test career. The backbone of the Indian batting line-up of late, Kohli managed to score just 134 runs from 10 innings in England. While his highest score was 39, he was dismissed for duck on two occasions. James Anderson and Stuart Broad, two of the most well established swing bowlers in world cricket, bowled an impeccable line just outside the off-stump to the 25-year-old, who was dismissed six times caught behind the wicket. Kohli looked extremely vulnerable with that off-stump line and it was surprising to see a batsmen of his calibre perish in same fashion again and again. In the first innings of the final Test, while the English pacers ripped through the Indian team, skipper Dhoni fought a lone battle and scored 82 runs out of 148. It was Dhoni`s innings which got the Indian team to a respectable score after they had lost their ninth wicket at the score of 90. Even though India lost the series 3-1, Dhoni, despite his flawed technique, slammed four half-centuries – an effort which is likely to extend his Test captaincy. And even if Dhoni decides to step down as the Test skipper, the question remains the same – is Kohli ready to lead India in Tests after their dismal show against England?