Perception of Reality : Virat Kohli

The talk in Indian cricket right now is completely about Virat, be it good or bad. This article in a no generalized one but just my views on few stories that have come out since his announcement. And is to those few people whom it may concern. Here is a disclaimer that you may find this blog in support of one particular person but I can assure you that there will be no lies in it.

Reminiscing Greatness: 

Virat Kohli is one of the fewest cricketers who was never dropped off the team for out of form. No arguments when someone calls him the greatest of his timeline. Probably the only player on the planet whose form is measured by the centuries he score. STANDARDS!  People got so used to him scoring 100s that they started calling him out of form. Very strange. I can’t blame anyone because its Virat we are talking about and he sort of competing against himself ever since he started. 

Who is called a ‘GOOD CAPTAIN’ ?

It was a no brainer when Virat was called for captaincy post MSD. Dhoni got Indians habituated to winning irrespective of the format, place and tournament. No doubt he’ll be one of the best captains to grace the sport. Period. Its just not the success he brought but also the longevity in that position. Pre Dhoni era is where there was hardly any discussion about captaincy, success etc. But due to the impact he created raised every Indian hope to win, win and win. There can never be a limit to expectations right!  Personally, I consider him lucky than all his successive captains who have come and will come just because of the fact that he did not have any one to be compared to in his entire time. I’m sure many of you will disagree here with me or have a different opinion but hear me out. Post Dhoni era brought a new scale to measure how good a captain is. ICC trophies. I believe most of the people got carried away with him winning 3 ICC trophies within 7 years. No issue in accepting this feat that can probably be unbreakable, but how many of you realize that after his 1st t20 wc win he lost the next 5 t20 wcs? Adding to the above statistics, he won 1 CWC out of 2 and 1 CT out of 2. So, in total he has 3 ICC trophies out of 10 participations. Again, this is phenomenal I agree. My point here is not to degrade his greatness but letting people know how to view things. 

Just because he won 3 ICC trophies, his failure in the rest 7 tournaments did not become the topic of discussion. On the other hand, Virat has been the captain for 3 tournaments so far of which the worst performance is exiting in SF in CWC 19. Had this record been for any captain pre Dhoni time, he’d be considered aa a great captain. Sometimes I feel that Dhoni winning those ICC trophies is becoming a curse to his successive captains to come. “The definition of a good captain = win ICC trophies”. 

The Build of Hate and Criticism:

Team India = Chokers in Knockout matches – is a notion that started when we lost in CWC-19. But it only got intense post 2019 when Virat himself hit the rock bottom of his form, says everyone. I agree that he’s not soring 100s like he used to but I’ll never agree that he went out of form. In India the media is such an influence that its sometimes hard to avoid the noise. Honestly, I feel that had Virat been the captain of say New Zealand or South Africa or any other country for that matter he would have been different in terms of work load. By “work load” I include the pressure from everyone around you to be successful. I don’t believe when he mentioned it just in terms of physically. The growth of social media has become so toxic that involuntarily effects players. I’ve seen many say it’s a good decision and now he can bat more freely and better. But do you know his stats went higher while he was captain? And no, it’s not good news at all. 

People always talk about the fact that international cricket is in no comparison to IPL and yet they take IPL into consideration for captaincy. I personally consider Rohit as a great captain and I don’t mind him taking over Virat’s place in T20Is, but what hurts the most is the stories that are coming up lately post his announcement that show hatred for Virat. It’s like all these people have been keeping this hate inside them all the time. Why?

The Face of Indian Cricket:

The impact Virat has created across the globe for the team is unreal. Winning outside is no more a surprise. Forget winning, the way this team plays is enough to tell what he had done all these years. Be it the competitiveness or the fitness culture and that aggression is bliss what the other teams are now afraid of. I can say with enough certainty that he carried Dhoni’s legacy 100%. People will acknowledge what he has done when he left just like how we now miss Dhoni in the team. Understand that every player plays for the nation and they are Indians too. You can have your favourite just like anybody else but that doesn't give anybody the right to criticize the rest. 

Can you be sure that the captains to come in future will not have the pressure of being sacked if they don’t win ICC trophies? And do you think this is good for Indian Cricket? 

(ST)