VIRAT IN WISDEN
| Date :30-Dec-2019 |
ever since his advent in international cricket, Viratt Kohli has been unstoppable and has deservingly been named ‘Cricketer Of The Decade’ by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanac along with four other international players, South Africans Dale Steyn and AB de Villiers and Australian Steve Smith along with woman cricketer Ellise Perry. In the last ten years after joining the senior Indian team, Virat Kohli has amassed over 5000 more international runs than any other cricketer in the world at a consistent average of over 50. In another recognition for the highly talented Indian captain he has been named as the captain of the Wisden Test team of the decade and also a member of the ODI XI.
This is phenomenal. Virat Kohli began his stint with the senior Indian team under the leadership of the iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a batsman and learnt the art of leading the team from the front gradually. Seeing the progress of Kohli, Dhoni too began to withdraw from the leadership role step by step and quit as Test captain to pave the way for Virat Kohli to step in the leadership role. From behind the stumps Dhoni would be imparting lessons to Virat in team management. It is for this mentorship role Virat Kohli and the rest of the team management would insist on retaining Dhoni in the team despite his advanced age. Now that Dhoni is almost on the verge of retirement Virat has assumed complete command over the team’s affairs.
He has been so successful in the leadership role that he is being rated as one of the most successful captains in world cricket. However, the responsibility of leading an Indian team, which is under perennial pressure to perform from the cricket crazy fans, has not dimmed his hunger for runs. His high standards of fitness have already become legendary so much so that it has also rubbed on other members of the team. Virat Kohli has set a very high success rate himself and the team and he and the team under his leadership are achieving those landmarks with aplomb so much so that the Indian team is now the top ranked Test team in the international cricket and also in the shorter versions of the game.
In spite such enviable run of success it must be rankling the workaholic Virat Kohli that he has not been to win top international titles, faltering at the last hurdle. However, this failure does not belittle the standards that Virat and his team have set for themselves. Kohli is just 31 years of age and hence has many more years to set newer standards for future generations of cricketers just as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virendra Sehwag, MS Dhoni, Saurav Ganguly have set. In fact they were the standardbearers to give new vision to young cricketers and so will Virat.