Kolkata: “Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency.” Perhaps this quote by the famous pro-wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson best explains why the Indian cricket skipper, Virat Kohli is respected all over the world at this point of time.
Absolutely nothing short of brilliance can be used to describe Kohli who has been on a rampage in Test cricket off-late. What adds more to his excellence is his captaincy which simply cannot go wrong at the moment. The right-hander has lots of admirers across the globe and his recent performances have drawn praise from the greats of the gentleman’s game. India’s first World cup winning captain and a legendary all-rounder, Kapil Dev has been impressed by the Indian skipper’s current form, so much so that the legend described Virat Kohli as a “combination of Sachin Tendulkar and Viv Richards.”
Speaking at the launch of the book, Numbers Do Lie, Dev, who was accompanied by former Indian cricketer, Aakash Chopra, said that Kohli was the best batsman he had ever seen. Also his batting style was a combination of the legendary batsmen Tendulkar and Richards. Dev also praised the fitness level of the 28-year old.
While Tendulkar’s batting was all about grace, poise and technique, Richards’ batting was all about style and brute. And Kohli seems to have elements of these legends in him which is well portrayed by his performances with the willow. Kohli is quite the force to reckon with in Test cricket currently. After he took over the mantle of captaincy of the Test team, his batting in the five-day format has improved. The fact that he has scored four double centuries in Test cricket so far in such a short span of time speaks volumes of his consistent run with the bat. The pressure of captaincy has extracted the best out of the Delhi batsman and he has now led India to 15 Test wins in his 23 games as a skipper.
Under him, India has defeated England, Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh. Also he stretched India’s unbeaten run in Test cricket to 19 matches without a defeat. A batsman of pure class, Kohli has escalated up the ranks in Test cricket and now he finds himself sitting in the number 2 spot in the ICC Test batsman rankings. For a man who did not have a great beginning to his Test career, this would be something that India’s skipper would welcome with open hands.
The skipper has enjoyed a lot of success off-late, his recent win against Bangladesh by a whopping 208 runs is an example. His next assignment would be against a visiting Australian side. While the Indians have been in supreme touch in Test cricket so far, the Australians have endured a mixed fortune as they were routed by the South Africans Down Under, but managed to secure comfortable victories against Pakistan. India would be the overwhelming favourites when they take the field against the Aussies later this month but the latter cannot bewritten off completely. And Kohli has had a good record with the bat against the men with the baggy green. The Border-Gavaskar trophy would be one contest that would be nothing short of a cracker to watch for every ardent cricket lover.
(With inputs from NDTV Sports and www.cricketcountry.com)