Celebrating The Legacy Of Virat Kohli – A Fan Note
A fan's note on the impact of Virat Kohli and the legacy he left behind over Indian cricket.
There are two kinds of captains: captains who are shrewd & tactically brilliant and the others who are true leaders.
Brearley, Jayawardene, Ponting, Ranatunga, Dhoni belong to that breed who were known for their sharp cricketing brain.
Then there are people like Clive Lloyd, who took men from different island nations and transformed them into the greatest test team cricket has ever seen. Or Imran Khan, behind whom an entire nation could rally & who inspired his men to lift the world cup in ‘92.
Even Steve Waugh can be put into that bracket who was a leader par excellence but terrific with his strategies too.
One thing that is common among all these great names is they have left behind a legacy of their own. Each one of them set a benchmark, a yardstick to be matched or bettered by their successors.
Where does Virat Kohli stand amongst these giants of skippers! I feel he carved a different niche altogether for himself & for the cricketing world.
A man who finished as India’s most successful captain & 4th among international captains must have done more rights than wrongs on the field.
Like winning, losing also becomes a habit & he inherited the team that had lost 11 out of 13 tests in Australia & England.
In his 1st test as captain at Adelaide Oval in Dec,14 where he filled in for Dhoni, the teaser was out for the next epic 6 years in Indian test history with his now-famous statement “I’m willing to risk defeat in the pursuit of victory”.
The 4th test of BGT 2014-15 was where he was officially given the reigns of the Indian Men’s test team and till his last test as captain at Cape Town in 2022, he led with unmatched passion, hunger, vigour for 68 tests with 40 wins at W/L ratio only behind Steve Waugh.
Numbers Can Be Forgotten, Legacy Can’t
Kohli transformed India into a test side that competes with itself only.
During the course of his leadership, he broke many records & created a few himself. But the numbers can be forgotten over a period of time or as they say, records are meant to be broken. It’s the legacy that you leave behind, the memories that people cherish with smiles on their faces and pride over their chest that define your character. Virat Kohli, the captain has left us with quite a few.
Virat Kohli – The Captain Of Fast Bowlers
His biggest contribution to Indian cricket lies in the cultural shift of bowling resources. Historically, India have kept on producing magical spinners but world-beating fast bowlers can be counted on fingers, leave alone an impressive pace attack. Kohli made the world took notice of our fast bowlers & made them admit that India’s pace arsenal can match or outbowl even the best of attacks not occasionally but regularly.
Ishant, Bumrah, Shami, Umesh, Siraj all flourished and blossomed under Kohli as there was a captain who believed that these guys can win us matches both abroad and home. Winning tests need you to take 20 wickets & Kohli always played to pick 20 wickets. He was ready to take extra responsibility as a batter to accommodate the extra bowler. He was audacious enough to pick either or both of his iconic spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja and still win matches.
What’s more important is even when it didn’t come off, he owned his decisions because not having a favourable result sometimes is much smaller than having a clear vision every time. He has left Indian bowling in safe hands with guys like Bumrah & Siraj having their best days ahead plus a new crop of pacers also getting ready.
Virat Kohli & Fitness Culture
Fitness is another area where Virat revolutionised Indian cricket. I listened to him saying once that the point of being supremely fit is to convert a well attempted dropped catch into a well-earned wicket. How true he was when he said, “It is not confined to just sport because even in a work scenario as well if you are fit, you will be able to work more and achieve more. You will be able to be more productive because if you lack the energy you will not be as productive as you should be.”
The levels of fitness he has achieved, have now become a professional requirement for any young cricketer. Just look at Shami, he looks like a different bowler after he worked on his fitness & can bowl longer spells without a dip in intensity.
However, his biggest contribution and greatest legacy would be him being the poster boy of test cricket. A gen-next cricketer who championed the cause of test cricket. Have a look at how he celebrates every wicket and you would how much it meant for him to win tests. We just had an off-colour Ashes down under and who would have thought a few years ago that another test (IND v SA) going around at the same time with an Ashes test would generate more attention & excitement.
Cricket boards these days scrap tests or trade them with a T20I or two just because it’s not commercially available to host tests. Then ask CA or ECB how much revenue they earned from back to back BGT & India-Eng tests. You take notice when from Warne to Vaughan, from Richards to Tendulkar thank Virat for making tests exciting again. I scroll down my Twitter timeline in pleasant disbelief when people in their teens discuss test cricket or talk about missing Virat in tests. This is the generation I’m talking about who has grown up on an overdose of IPL & other leagues around the world.
No cricketer is bigger than cricket, the sport. But here is a man who made cricket bigger, better and richer.
Thank you, my captain!