Tracking the progress of Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli

It has been 5 years, 7 months and 182 matches since a certain Virat Kohli made his international debut. 8089 runs have come off his bat since then, which accounts for 17.86% of runs scored by all Indian batsmen (in the matches involving Kohli). It further improves to 19.77% in winning causes. 19 of his 25 tons have powered his team to victories. He has been the second highest run-getter in international cricket over the last 3 years and has a 3-figure knock against and in every Test playing nation. These are featured highlights which you probably read every day, and sometimes a large database smudges the nuances of each achievement.

After India’s win over Bangladesh in the World Cup T20, a game in which Kohli scored a clinical 57*, the Indian No.3, in a brief chat, spoke about something which was delightfully pleasing for all those who have tracked his assured graduation. From being accompanied with adjectives like brash and impulsive, he can now boast of words like mature, thoughtful and responsible about his conduct as an international player. Thoughts like ‘no point in bossing a good bowler just for the sake of it’, ‘the need to outdo the bowler by manipulating your feet movement’ and ‘the flexibility in your radar to hit sixes over mid-wicket’ were expressed in the conversation, thereby confirming that his rich vein of batting touch is not only a by-product of good form but also an outcome of minute analysis of effective batting.

It might intrigue followers to find such mellowed demeanour about somebody who started off in a completely different manner. Success, however, can tranquilize a chaotic system, and the need to sustain momentum can keep stray thoughts away from the mind. While cricket is a physical sport, the contest is influenced by the mental endurance of its competitors. Good players possess the talent and the skills necessary for excelling over a period of time; great players, making use of their natural endowments, breach the next level by blending smartness in the approach. Kohli is yet to enrol into the league of all-time greats, but, if the signs (of late) are an indicator, the coincidence of the boy-to-man-transition and his peak form should catalyze this process.

The sternest test for him was the 4 away tours, especially at a time when India were, and they still are, in a rebuilding phase. 12 matches in two trips to the southern hemisphere yielded a tied match for the team, at best. The scoreline was not beyond judicious expectations, but the performance of certain individuals was the pleasant bottom line of these tours. India’s hopes were pinned on the performance of Kohli. Though the numbers generated by him did not match the hype, the manner in which they were rendered was good enough to concur with the trust exuded by his flair.

Certain experts like to retrospect careers by breaking them into fragments of 4-year cycles. Subscribing to this theory would imply that Kohli is currently at a stage involving the conflict of his steady rise and opposition teams trying to discover the batsman’s weaknesses. In some ways, the extent of a player’s purple patch defines the manner in which he is remembered, as the magnitude of that peak form leaves a reverberating effect on the onlookers. The likes of Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Michael Clarke and Kumar Sangakkara in recent times have illustrated the application of form (across formats) to maximize effective output and have served as the driving force in the success of respective teams. Kohli has been doing so and needs to continue, for form is not necessarily a permanent entity.

Some have hailed Virat as the run-machine for the side, similar to Sachin Tendulkar in the 90s. While statistical comparison between the two would be a delightful pass time exercise, the emulation of utilizing dominative prowess as a tool to stack up runs and lead batting line-ups in diverse circumstances has been a refreshing development in the former’s game. Aged 25, Kohli probably has his best years lined up in the next couple of seasons, physically as well as mentally. Amalgamate tours like the ones to England and Australia and the World Cup 2015, you would probably get the ideal mapping of talent with opportunity. Here’s hoping that the swagger associated with Kohli shows up more with his numbers (across formats and countries) and less with his on-field activities!