The 31-year old added that the pacers were inexperienced under Dhoni, and to make matters worse, the fact that he constantly rotated them meant that they could never settle down. Ishant added that under Kohli’s captaincy, communication with the management and the bowlers is wonderful, and has played a huge role in making the unit so lethal.
“Look during Dhoni’s time, some of us didn’t have that much of experience. Also, the fast bowlers would be rotated a lot, that’s also a reason that consistency as a group couldn’t be achieved.”
“If you know that you are a pool of 3-4 fast bowlers (now with Jasprit Bumrah), that increases communication. Earlier, there would be 6 to 7 bowlers, communication wasn’t there.” Sharma said as quoted by India Today.
Ishant also added that under Kohli, the team is more like a family, with the camaraderie playing a key role in the success. The freedom has allowed the side to have frank discussions, which has given great results on the field. The Delhi player also added that the members enjoy each other’s successes now more than ever, and the healthy bond is important if the team wants to succeed.
“But when Virat took over, we have all by then gained a fair amount of experience and that helped. Now when you play more, stay in that dressing room more, spend more time with the team compared to family, discussions are free and frank. And then you start enjoying when you go out there in the middle. That’s a different feeling,” the 96-Test veteran added.
India’s next Test assignment will be the tour of New Zealand in February. Jasprit Bumrah is likely to return to the Test fold from injury in the two-match series.
