The International Cricket Council (ICC) needs to take time out to felicitate former India captain Virat Kohli on November 5 every year. Kohli has done more to keep everyone glued to the game in the recent past than anyone else.
Whenever he is on the field, all cameras are on him. Just look at the way he celebrates after a wicket falls; it is uninhibited. Then when he is fielding, he is egging the crowd on to chant in India’s favour. He is going to India captain Rohit Sharma, offering him suggestions.
Then while he is batting, Kohli attracts attention with his breath-taking shot-making. He plays strokes that others simply struggle to manufacture, and is effortless at that.
During the ongoing T20 World Cup, Kohli has been simply unstoppable with the bat. The way he played against Pakistan in India’s opening game in the tournament will be spoken about for a long time to come. In particular, the two successive sixes off Pakistan’s pacy Haris Rauf in the 19th over was simply outstanding. The straight six off the penultimate ball of the 19th over is now part of cricketing folklore. Former India captain and head coach Ravi Shastri summed it up best.
"In all my years of playing and watching India vs Pakistan, those two sixes off Haris Rauf are two of the greatest shots played by an Indian batsman. The only comparison is Sachin Tendulkar's six off Shoaib Akhtar in Centurion in the 2003 World Cup. These are two of the greatest cricketers of our time. Tendulkar's knock had some of the magnificent shots played in white-ball cricket against Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar. And then this Kohli knock. These two are the biggest knocks I have seen where quality fast-bowling has been taken apart," Shastri told The Indian Express.
In short, Kohli has singlehandedly lifted ICC events’ stature every year with his presence. That should be reason enough for ICC to felicitate him every year on November 5, the day he turns older.
You just cannot take your eyes off Kohli right now if you are a cricket fan, whether you are in Australia or watching on various devices thousands of miles away. In this tournament, apart from his batting exploits, it is Kohli’s presence that has divided opinions.
Take the opening game against Pakistan in the final over, Kohli instinctively called for a no-ball after Mohammad Nawaz bowled a waist-high ball. He gestured towards the umpires Rod Tucker and Marais Erasmus. After a bit of discussion, the umpires declared it a no-ball, leading to a lot of heartburn across the border over Kohli’s gesture. The former India captain was basically reacting instinctively, but when he put his hand out to ask the umpire, it was misconstrued. It has already led to suggestions that the ICC buckles under a superstar’s pressure and hence the umpires ‘favoured’ him.
Then in the game against Bangladesh, something similar happened, only this time Kohli was enquiring if the bowler had bowled a second waist-high ball in the over after the umpire’s warning. Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan stepped in and there was a bit of discussion on the field, leading to a wave of memes portraying Kohli as an umpire.
Was Kohli pressurising the umpires? The opinions are divided.
Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram jumped to Kohli’s defence on A Sports: “I think it’s a natural thing for the batsman, if they see a wide, they gesture to the umpire anyway. I don’t know the laws of today. Maybe a present player can tell us.”
Akram’s pace partner during his playing days, Waqar Younis, disagreed with him. “Shakib is saying you do your batting, let the umpires do umpiring. He is saying the same things that we said. That if you are going to call something, you are going to put pressure on the umpire, then of course he is a big name. So sometimes umpires are under pressure,” said Younis.
Not just that, Kohli was even accused of fake fielding by Bangladesh wicket-keeper batter Nurul Hasan post the game. Kohli was fielding at point when he behaved as if he was throwing the ball when in fact the ball was being fielded by Arshdeep Singh. This led to the two Bangladesh openers Litton Das and Najmul Shanto complaining about it. But both the on-field umpires Marais Erasmus and Chris Brown didn't take any action else India could have been penalised five runs, which was the margin of the victory in the end!
Before the Bangladesh game, Kohli was once again in focus as he put out a video informing the world how his privacy was breached during his stay in Perth. A hotel staff put out a video of Kohli’s room on social media. An enraged Kohli took up the matter with his team management and put out the video on social media pointing out the breach.
“I understand that fans get happy and excited seeing their favourite players and get excited to meet them and I’ve always appreciated that. But this video here is appalling and it's made me feel very paranoid about my privacy,” Kohli wrote on his Instagram feed.
“If I cannot have privacy in my own hotel room, then where can really expect any personal space at all?? I’m NOT okay with this kind of fanaticism and absolute invasion of privacy. Please respect people’s privacy and not treat them as a commodity for entertainment,” he added.
Kohli also received support from his team management over the incident.
“It was disappointing and an unpleasant incident for any cricketer to be in, not just Virat Kohli. Hopefully incidents like this will not be repeated in future. Hotel room is one place where you are meant to feel secure away from the media and fans. We have taken it up with the relevant authorities and action has been taken. Kohli is feeling well and already training with the team here in Adelaide,” India head coach Rahul Dravid told the media in a pre-match press conference in Adelaide.
But in all this drama around Kohli everyone has simply forgotten that he is still a champion batter who has roared back to form in fine style. In fact, during the course of the tournament, Kohli has now become the leading run-getter in the history of the T20 World Cup. He went past former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene.
Jayawardena had logged 1016 runs in 31 innings, while Kohli now has 1065 runs and counting in 23 innings.
“Records are meant to be broken. Someone was always going to break my record, and it’s you, Virat. Brilliant mate, congratulations. You’ve always been a warrior,” Jayawardena said on a video put out by the ICC. “Form is temporary but class is permanent. Well done, buddy,” he added.
What has helped matters for Kohli is the fact that the tournament is being played in Australia, a country where he now has the most international runs by an Indian, surpassing the incomparable Sachin Tendulkar. To top it all, the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide is the ground he enjoys batting at the most - he has scored plenty of runs there since his first Test century at that ground in 2011-12.
"As soon as I knew the World Cup was in Australia, I was grinning from ear to ear. I knew good cricketing shots would be the key. I knew the kind of experience and game awareness of having played in Australia will come in handy for the team. I absolutely love playing in this (Adelaide Oval) ground. Right from the nets at the back, as soon as I enter, it makes me feel at home. That knock at MCG (against Pakistan) was meant to be, but when I come here, it is like I'm meant to come to Adelaide and enjoy my batting," said Kohli during the presentation post the Bangladesh game.
So in the space of a fortnight, we have had everything from Kohli, both on and off the field. He has wowed us with his batting, enraged his critics with his gestures and as always has got his fans wanting more from him.
As he turns a year older today and wiser, Kohli remains the biggest current cricketing superstar, almost the pied piper of the sport, who draws attention everywhere he goes. We will probably realise his impact when he is done playing the sport for good, but for now let us enjoy the Kohli we have all known. At 34 now probably his best cricketing years are ahead of him.
Does he feel he is back to his best?
"I would just say that I'm just in a happy space, I don't want to compare anything. What's in the past is in the past," Kohli responded during the post Bangladesh match presentation.
That is good enough for his large legion of fans!
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