Kohli is going through bad times as do players and calls to his head are premature, rude, and mean no cricket
Kohli is going through bad times as do players and calls to his head are premature, rude, and mean no cricket
Do great batsmen demand – and require – more understanding and more time to find their form than the travelman? It is a question that sometimes divides a nation, as India did when Sachin Tendulkar was nearing the end of his career. And now it is happening with Virat Kohli.
Perhaps it is our national obsession with individual centuries that is the cause. That 100th international century stayed away from Tendulkar for weeks and months before he took a nation out of its misery by scoring a run in Bangladesh. Let us tell you that in a match it came that India lost. But no one seemed to notice. Individual success outweighed team failure.
Kohli is going through a bad phase as do the players, but the call to his head is premature, rude and clearly makes no sense to cricket.
A break in continuity in the game does not mean the end. It just takes one big innings, perhaps his 71st international century (to satisfy something in our national psyche), and everyone must be wondering what the ruckus was all about.
statistically similar
Seeing Kohli in England in 2022 was statistically like seeing him in England in 2014. On that occasion, James Anderson worked him out, finding any edge of his bat outside the off-stump, ensuring the highest score of only 39 in ten Test innings. Seeing the dismissal, Kohli got out.
This time it’s been different. He is out, as he has seen in his progress. Then, with a rare combination of courage and ruthlessness, he would play away from his body and sideways the ball. The self-doubt was that of a man who did not score an international century in two and a half years, the assurance of a man who has hit 70 of them across the globe.
As India’s most successful captain and one of their three greatest batsmen (Sunil Gavaskar and Tendulkar being the other two), Kohli’s legacy lives on. His bad patch (measured only in terms of centuries scored) has lasted two and a half years. Yet even in that dark phase, he has scored over 2500 runs in 79 innings with an average of 35.5, which is lower than Chris Gayle’s career average and higher than Sanath Jayasuriya, Yuvraj Singh and Jos Buttler. Is. This should give us a perspective.
support and understanding
Only 15 players have played more than their 463 international matches, and none of them have an average of more than 50. Kohli averages 53. Of course, you can’t select a player based only on past records. And Kohli is like a classical song being played at the wrong tempo, which gives hope to those waiting in the wings. But he has the support and understanding of the two people who matter most, captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid; Either way, he is too proud of his performance to be a burden on the team.
After Manchester, the questions intensified: is the race a result of technical deficiencies, emotional uncertainty, fatigue, trust problems, physical deficiencies (such as eyesight), the pressures of modern sport, or is it the result of a young (Kohli, just 33 years old)? Are) stale with too much cricket?
Is it time for a batsman to choose between formats, leave white-ball cricket to focus on the red? Current players ask themselves this question at some point in their career.
Ben Stokes, two years younger to Kohli, announced his retirement from ODIs, saying playing three formats is “sustainable”. These are probably the two most competitive players in international cricket. The pressure to be Tendulkar or Kohli is greater than most people imagine. It is not only the expectations of the public that are often unrealistic, the individual also sets very high standards for himself. Sometimes the performance in the first three quarters of your career can become a burden in the last quarter. The great sometimes becomes the enemy of the very good.
give it your all
Kohli is the kind of player who throws everything into everything. Fitness and motivation remain high. If he finds his touch in any one format, he will be back on a roll in all of them. He’s done it before. Leaving something in his world would be an acknowledgment of failure, as he always prefers to do it his own way. In this he is like Tendulkar.
A decade ago when Tendulkar was going through a similar phase, I suggested that he quit white-ball cricket. He was older than Kohli – which tells us how quickly the pressure can come on you now – and was also prone to injuries. After this, Sachin played a purple period and scored the first double century of ODIs.
When great players have something to prove, it’s best to leave them alone and give them a chance to do so!
Leave Kohli alone, he will be back in form and score runs
Kohli is going through bad times as do players and calls to his head are premature, rude, and mean no cricket
Kohli is going through bad times as do players and calls to his head are premature, rude, and mean no cricket
Do great batsmen demand – and require – more understanding and more time to find their form than the travelman? It is a question that sometimes divides a nation, as India did when Sachin Tendulkar was nearing the end of his career. And now it is happening with Virat Kohli.
Perhaps it is our national obsession with individual centuries that is the cause. That 100th international century stayed away from Tendulkar for weeks and months before he took a nation out of its misery by scoring a run in Bangladesh. Let us tell you that in a match it came that India lost. But no one seemed to notice. Individual success outweighed team failure.
Kohli is going through a bad phase as do the players, but the call to his head is premature, rude and clearly makes no sense to cricket.
A break in continuity in the game does not mean the end. It just takes one big innings, perhaps his 71st international century (to satisfy something in our national psyche), and everyone must be wondering what the ruckus was all about.
statistically similar
Seeing Kohli in England in 2022 was statistically like seeing him in England in 2014. On that occasion, James Anderson worked him out, finding any edge of his bat outside the off-stump, ensuring the highest score of only 39 in ten Test innings. Seeing the dismissal, Kohli got out.
This time it’s been different. He is out, as he has seen in his progress. Then, with a rare combination of courage and ruthlessness, he would play away from his body and sideways the ball. The self-doubt was that of a man who did not score an international century in two and a half years, the assurance of a man who has hit 70 of them across the globe.
As India’s most successful captain and one of their three greatest batsmen (Sunil Gavaskar and Tendulkar being the other two), Kohli’s legacy lives on. His bad patch (measured only in terms of centuries scored) has lasted two and a half years. Yet even in that dark phase, he has scored over 2500 runs in 79 innings with an average of 35.5, which is lower than Chris Gayle’s career average and higher than Sanath Jayasuriya, Yuvraj Singh and Jos Buttler. Is. This should give us a perspective.
support and understanding
Only 15 players have played more than their 463 international matches, and none of them have an average of more than 50. Kohli averages 53. Of course, you can’t select a player based only on past records. And Kohli is like a classical song being played at the wrong tempo, which gives hope to those waiting in the wings. But he has the support and understanding of the two people who matter most, captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid; Either way, he is too proud of his performance to be a burden on the team.
After Manchester, the questions intensified: is the race a result of technical deficiencies, emotional uncertainty, fatigue, trust problems, physical deficiencies (such as eyesight), the pressures of modern sport, or is it the result of a young (Kohli, just 33 years old)? Are) stale with too much cricket?
Is it time for a batsman to choose between formats, leave white-ball cricket to focus on the red? Current players ask themselves this question at some point in their career.
Ben Stokes, two years younger to Kohli, announced his retirement from ODIs, saying playing three formats is “sustainable”. These are probably the two most competitive players in international cricket. The pressure to be Tendulkar or Kohli is greater than most people imagine. It is not only the expectations of the public that are often unrealistic, the individual also sets very high standards for himself. Sometimes the performance in the first three quarters of your career can become a burden in the last quarter. The great sometimes becomes the enemy of the very good.
give it your all
Kohli is the kind of player who throws everything into everything. Fitness and motivation remain high. If he finds his touch in any one format, he will be back on a roll in all of them. He’s done it before. Leaving something in his world would be an acknowledgment of failure, as he always prefers to do it his own way. In this he is like Tendulkar.
A decade ago when Tendulkar was going through a similar phase, I suggested that he quit white-ball cricket. He was older than Kohli – which tells us how quickly the pressure can come on you now – and was also prone to injuries. After this, Sachin played a purple period and scored the first double century of ODIs.
When great players have something to prove, it’s best to leave them alone and give them a chance to do so!