 "Virat Kohli")
A few days ago, just as India's batting order, specifically the top half, failed to ramp up the numbers in New Zealand, there was a popular joke doing the rounds on social media. It was about the sense of familiarity about batting collapses and the 1990s, where one man - Sachin Tendulkar - stood tall amidst the floundering ruins every time India played overseas. Replace Tendulkar with Virat Kohli and it still makes sense today. While the constantly drawn comparisons between Kohli and Tendulkar might be a tad hasty, premature, typical and, dare I say, unwanted, it clearly illustrates the rise of the Delhi batsman in the eyes of India's many supporters.
The 25-year-old's rise in international cricket in the last six years has been nothing short of spectacular. He made his way into the Indian setup at a time when Indian cricket was on the crux of something special. Eleven months before Kohli made his international debut in 2008, Mahendra Singh Dhoni had lifted the inaugural World T20 in South Africa. A few months later came a rare one-day tournament win in Australia and the birth of the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was also around this time that Kohli himself found a small mention in the larger annals of Indian cricket by leading the India Under-19s to only their second World Cup win at that level. Even in Tests, India was fast emerging as a team challenging Australia's decade-long dominance. There was an air of supreme confidence about Indian cricket back then. But equally, India had to start looking for a new generation of batsmen who would replace the legends that had served Indian cricket over the last decade and a half.
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Kohli's emergence, first as a prospect and later as an indispensable member of the batting side, was noticeable. Even during his early cricketing days, spent mostly on the grounds of west Delhi, his promise was always known, and spoken about in the right circles. His batsmanship was always a notch above the average local cricketer's, but what impressed many was his confidence, an attribute that he has effortlessly remoulded into his X-factor. When he first played for Delhi, as his then team-mate tells me, Kohli came across as this cocky, brash, arrogant boy with plenty of confidence and self-belief. Undoubtedly, there was ego too. But above all, there was a desire to prove everything he felt and thought about himself, and importantly, the hunger, the desire that very often ends up separating the good ones from the best.
Kohli's first taste of big time cricket, IPL, was baptism by fire in many ways. It was a forgettable tournament, where it almost seemed as though his world came crashing down all too quickly. But not the one to give up, he only saw it as a low point that could trigger a transformation - both in persona and batsmanship. For someone who seemed rather reserved or reluctant to accept the very idea of failure, this was a new starting point. Self-belief could have easily become self-doubt, but a relentless commitment to hard work and a desire to make it at the highest level meant a second beginning of sorts. The selectors saw in Kohli what very few others did and picked him ahead of established domestic performers, primarily with a long-term view. They were right.
Today, as he walks out to bat, there's a swagger about him. There's the bat twirling in his hands as he takes guard, the thumb wiping the sweat off his upper lips, the eyes so exclusively fixated on the next ball, and the body language of a battle-ready soldier. There's an unflinching desire to dominate, but that can wait till he gets set. There's nothing scatter-brained or impulsive about his shotmaking either. It's fairly methodical. Very often, the most unnoticed aspect of his batting is the patience he demonstrates up front, giving himself a good look-in before opting to bring out his expansive shots, which can knock off any bowler's confidence and dent him for a while. Ask Lasith Malinga.
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It was around the early half of 2012 that Kohli's transformation as one of the world's best limited-overs batsmen was complete. Before that, Kohli was undoubtedly a wonderful batsman, a delight to watch, very good and diligent at his craft and doing his bit rather well to help the team win matches. He played two stunning innings within a space of three weeks. The first was in Hobart, where India chased down 321 in 36.4 overs, largely due to Kohli's flamboyant unbeaten 133 off 86 balls, the second another hundred in another 300+ run chase, this time 183 off 148 balls and another Indian win. These knocks were critical not because of the number of runs Kohli made, but because of the way he got them - with a relentless commitment to attack, yet immensely responsible.
It's not just the cliched "purple patch" anymore. It's a zone many sportsmen aspire to enter, a level most try and breach, but only a select few cling to. Bowlers, very often the best ones, are surrendering to a level of batsmanship that is beyond their comprehension. Every time they try something different, throw a new trick at Kohli, it's met with a fitting reply. He's often impregnable these days, the self-belief at its highest. The maturity to gauge and respond to potentially complex situations has arrived. Even as a Test batsman, his progress has been encouraging. Heir to Tendulkar as India's number four, his knock in South Africa demonstrated the rare ability to step up his game when required, do the dirty bits of rebuilding an innings, and then the consolidation that underscores a quality Test knock. In other words, Kohli is ready for leadership.
Having briefly tasted the Indian captain's job during a tour of Zimbabwe last year and unofficially serving as Dhoni's deputy in the interim, there are signs that Kohli will be given the top job when the right time comes. There have been concerns about his temperament, or the often overt display of emotions, use of everyday expletives and other weapons of gamesmanship, but when runs talk and performances stand out, it's hard to ignore him. Kohli today is in the zone, and now that he's made it there, it's hard to see him throwing it all away.
FEATHERS IN HIS CAP
- Kohli has scored 1,507 runs in 22 Tests @44.32 with 5 centuries and 8 fifties; 5,445 runs in 130 ODIs @51.85 with 18 centuries and 30 fifties
- He scored the fastest century by an Indian in one-day internationals when he reached 100 off 52 balls against Australia in Jaipur in October 2013
- He is loved by advertisers, and currently endorses 16 brands, next only to Mahendra Singh Dhoni who endorses 20 brands (Shah Rukh Khan has 21 endorsements currently).
