If Virat Kohli is a household name, the title of Virat has existed for centuries. It was used to define someone massive or large, usually a leader.
Watching VK, as cricket junkies like to address the genius, churns you. There is one thing which has never been absent – the emotions he brings out in every viewer, including the non-cricket addict.
If you Google Virat Kohli, so many pages will be thrown up that it can actually be confusing. That is, if you have not followed this man who turns 35 on November 5. They said cricket is a sport played by just a few countries. Well, if affirmation was needed that one man could lend it an Olympic zing (or ring?), Kohli has done it.
Earlier this week, in Mumbai, the high priests of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) decided that cricket would be part of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The face used to showcase the sport and the T20 format was none other than Kohli. One man in a nation with a burgeoning population of over 1.4 billion could act as the X-factor for cricket getting back into the Olympics. There is no greater reference point to define the greatness of King Kohli.
As a boy born in West Delhi, Kohli was brash, and aggressive as well. He never shied away from using the crudest Hindi swear words. Some would say that’s par for the course since Delhiwallahs swear with minimum fuss. It is, actually, a manner of speaking, though not acceptable in Parliament!
Kohli has been Punjabi by nature, though that’s no reference to the restaurant chains which go by a similar name. A little background about West Delhi is a must. It has produced some fantastic cricketers, Ashish Nehra and Gautam Gambhir, sitting Member of Parliament included.
The general impression is of West Delhi as more of a business area. But it has also brought out the best in boys who embraced sports, not just cricket. That cricket nets still exist, despite the concrete mazes and labyrinths, is a reality. That is why many wannabe Kohlis hope to be discovered in Delhi. They may try and imitate his beard at a barber’s saloon, wear dark glasses like him and even masquerade in the blue shirt, but there can only be one Kohli, as he proved once again on Thursday night in Pune as he stroked his 48th ODI hundred. For some, cricket is just number-crunching, which is why there are so many data analysts these days. For purists, cricket is a romance, a “nasha”, as they say in Hindi.
Old-timers who have been part of the DDCA (Delhi and Districts Cricket Association) have confirmed that when Virat was young, he was ignored at times by selectors. Before you raise your brows, anything can happen in Delhi. That was why, until a few years ago, Bishan Bedi paaji would keep muttering that the DDCA could never be set right. Of course, Indian cricket’s own Tiger, Nawab of Pataudi, quit Delhi cricket and went to Hyderabad.
This narrative is about Kohli, one-time West Delhi brat who is now a brand that commands billons in various currencies. One currency which has withstood market pressure is his batting. Yes, he has gone through lean phases. Cricketers too are human. Today, you can go gaga over his 48th ODI hundred. Rewind to the words he said on that April night in 2011 when MS Dhoni led India to the ICC World Cup in Mumbai. It was more a celebration of Sachin Tendulkar after he had dealt with a nation’s expectations for over two decades.
Why? Simply because SRT had given so much to Indian cricket, a World Cup was in order. The world sadly measures champions in terms of titles, championships, records and numbers. Yet, champion athletes give sport a meaning and context that mere numbers can never explain.
If it was Formula One, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher made people fall in love with the sport. Some said they would stop watching F1 after Senna died at Imola in 1994. Well, some did, but the sport continued. That’s why when people say nobody is greater than the sport, it is not rhetoric. Tennis has also seen massive Grand Slam champions come and go. That is why, from Pete Sampras to Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic to Rafael Nadal, each one sends tennis fans into combat mode. The fights over the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) will rage, but Majors won alone do not define it.
The same goes for Kohli. For Indian fans who still treat SRT as the God of cricket, Kohli is no different. Perhaps, in the coming years, Kohli too will become a religion of sorts for cricket lovers since he has brought so much joy. Cricket can transport you to a state of nirvana, whatever the format. When Kohli executed that straight six off Haris Rauf last year in the T20 World Cup, it left the bowler traumatised. You and I watched replays repeatedly. It defied physics, some said. That’s Kohli.
In the evening of his career, if that is an apt phrase, Kohli has tempered his batting style. He has made it more refined, more mature. Yes, you could say he was selfish when he went for his own 100 in Pune, while KL Rahul played the perfect role of refusing singles. Kohli deserved that ton, for he had plotted that victory against Bangladesh.
Domination? That is a mild word. Kohli has always done his best, even though some will never forgive those BCCI bosses who got rid of him, and Ravi Shastri as coach.
Over a decade ago, there was a crazy number sung by Dhanush in a mixture of Tamil and English. Why this, why this Kolaveri Di….
The number belted out in 2011-12 resonated even with headline writers who had to describe Kohli’s smashing innings in that era. And the high notes still haven’t stopped.