A fan's ode to Virat Kohli - The first of his kind

Every generation has a superstar, someone everyone loves, someone everyone wants to succeed and someone everyone expects a lot from. Earlier, it was the Scholarly Sunil Gavaskar then the Almighty Sachin Tendulkar and now, there is the Gigantic or ‘Virat’ Kohli. Is it too soon to list him amongst the greatest that played the game? Probably it is, but he is destined for greatness, assuming he continuous what he has been doing over a period of time.

If Kohli is to be explained in a simple mathematical equation, it would be, Tendulkar’s Skill + Dravid’s Reliability + Ganguly’s Attitude = Virat Kohli. If you type Virat Kohli in Microsoft Word and right click on it to search for a synonym, the word ‘consistent’ should be displayed. So what makes Kohli what he is? It is his approach.

The key to success is to do the basics right. For a batsman, it means getting his balance right, playing all the shots in the book, knowing when to shift gears, learning from mistakes and building partnerships.

Kohli has always been technically sound, his stance and posture assist him to play the rising delivery well, a skill that has helped him tackle express bowlers on quick pitches. Yes, the swinging ball had troubled him, as it had and has tormented several batsmen, but Kohli has the temperament to defend good balls and banish the bad ones. This is why he has made the one-down spot his own.

There were some doubts regarding his off-side play but he has silenced his critics by playing supreme cover drives and crisp square cuts. The recurring flick of his legs is his staple, it helps him keep the scoreboard ticking and build partnerships. He may not be as inventive as De Villiers or as powerful as Gayle when it comes to being creative and straying away from the textbook to play out of the box shots. But does he need to? Like his looks, his shots are also aesthetic, never ugly.

Virat has admitted that chasing helps him map his innings better. It aids him to think, analyse, reiterate if required and guide the team in achieving the target, which is why his record while chasing is envious. He is no less a player while setting a target as well, maybe not knowing the target sort of makes batting less strenuous, however, it can make one complacent as well, but Virat has played the game long enough to assess the playing conditions and the opposition to perfection, and set a winning score.

An agile fielder, Kohli saves crucial runs and is an integral part of India’s athletic fielding unit. His medium pace is also handy, although India need not extract all from his body, he is not a machine, India needs him to bat, he is not an all-rounder and India doesn’t need him to be one.

Does this mean he has mastered the game? Not at all. The game is evolving, the opposition is quick to spot weaknesses and cash in on them. Kohli hasn’t been tested by a cohesive bowling unit where every bowler is challenging. The dearth of multiple, quality fast bowlers and spinners in a team has always given Kohli respite where he can respect certain bowlers and annihilate the others.

Overseas tours are still taxing; there are several frontiers to be conquered. Captaincy is a different beast in itself; will Kohli be able to tame it without letting it affect his batting? India cannot afford to lose the ‘batsman Kohli’ to the ‘captain Kohli’. He is designed for T20, destructive in ODI’s and desirable in Tests. Kohli is standing in front of a door with a nameplate called Legends, but the door is yet to open.

If Cricket is the night sky, there are several twinkling stars in it, there are some shooting stars as well that entertain for a while and then fade away. But Virat Kohli has been like the North Star, he is just there making his presence felt. He is not the next Sachin Tendulkar, he is the first Virat Kohli.

Batting Career Summary

	M	Inn	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	SR	100	50	4s	6s
Tests	41	72	4	2994	169	44.03	52.93	11	12	352	9
ODI	171	163	23	7212	183	51.51	89.97	25	36	673	73
T20I	40	37	10	1447	90	53.59	132.51	0	14	153	28
IPL	123	115	19	3137	99	32.68	124.93	0	19	276	110