Virat Kohli's real challenge lies in Test cricket

BANGALORE: Virat Kolhi's rise to the No. 2 spot in the ICC's ODI rankings should not surprise anyone. It is an apt reward to his consistency at the highest level, the number of match-winning knocks he has come up with in recent times, and the increasing maturity he has shown.
His next challenge though is tougher. The Indian selectors are to sit down on Friday (August 10) to pick the Indian Test for the series against New Zealand and Kohli no doubt will be picked, for the selectors will not have forgotten that in the last Test the young man played, he got a hundred.That it was against Australia in Australia will also not be lost on them. But Kohli will be the first to admit that while he has indeed emerged as the front-runner to seize the number three spot vacated by Rahul Dravid, he hasn't exactly sealed the spot.
The next few months, which sees India host the English and the Aussies following the Kiwi tour, will be Kohli's best chance to do so. Test cricket is relatively easier on Indian tracks when it comes to batting and so it is a golden opportunity. Also, Kohli is the kind of batsman who builds an innings whatever the format and that should hold in good stead. What will also help is a longer run, allowing him to settle down to take on what every player will tell you is the game's biggest challenge -- Test cricket.
Should Kohli establish himself in the longest format of the game, by doing well in the home series and taking that experience along to flourish abroad, a double benefit awaits the national team. Kohli, touted as a future Indian captain even during his brasher days, offers himself as a natural alternative once Dhoni calls time on his Test career as he has indicated he will. The likes of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir can at best play temporary roles, Kohli is the long-term bet and across the formats.
So while the No. 1 spot in ODIs doesn't seem too far away, it is making the top ten in Test cricket and thereafter steadily climbing that chart, is what will make Kohli a complete cricketer, while also doing justice to the sheer natural talent he possesses.