An Ode to the King!

The King of Modern Cricket. There is only one person this could possibly refer to and that is the Indian captain, Virat "King" Kohli. If you want to compare in terms of numbers, there is no cricketer who has better numbers than Kohli across all three formats. But stats is not everything. So what makes him the greatest batsman of his generation?

The answer is quite simple actually. Dedication. Dedication towards the sport. The kind of passion he has towards his profession is unparalleled. Not fit enough to play the game? Hit the gym hard and up the ante not only for himself, but for the entire Indian cricket team. Non-vegetarian diet doesn't work? Give up meat entirely and become a vegan. Batting technique not resulting in enough runs? Observe and learn from his peers and hit the nets extra hard till he perfects it. If you want to learn about hard work and perseverance, you don't need to look beyond him for the perfect role model.

To be quite honest, there are very few occasions where Virat Kohli does not score. Given the number of matches he's played, his average is quite outstanding in every format and he does a lot of justice to titles like Run Machine and King of Chasing. Honestly, I believe that Run Machine is a pun because of the way he runs between wickets even after twenty odd overs which helps him convert singles into twos with extreme ease. He is definitely not a fan of hitting a six every other ball but the control he has over his innings is just surreal. And of course, how is any description of his batting complete without commenting upon his glorious cover drive? The timing, execution and skill he displays in his cover drive makes it magical to watch.

Let's talk about his captaincy. He is probably not India's best captain ever but he is definitely a captain who leads from the front. India have won loads of their matches under his leadership. However, he is India's most successful test captain and the only one to win the Border Gavaskar trophy in Australia. India have also won a majority of their streak of eleven test series at home under him. He is also the skipper who led India to victory in the U-19 World Cup all the way back in 2008. 

So what defines Virat Kohli? His batting? His captaincy? His records? His 70 international centuries? His aggression? I think there are a couple of instances that really define his brilliance as a cricketer. Despite having had a huge dip in form when he played England in England in 2014, in his first match as captain, Kohli scored two centuries against Australia in Australia the very same year. Furthermore, when he went back to England in 2018, Kohli was awarded the Man of the Series for the sheer number of runs he scored. Though he is not looked at as a typical T20 player, Kohli won Man of the Series in two consecutive T20I World Cups. In 2016, in his dream IPL season, Kohli had eight stitches on his thumb and still managed to score a century of a mere fifty balls in a 15 over battle against KXIP. Experts said he had a problem against leg spin after looking at his performance in IPL 2019. The very next edition, Kohli played beautifully against leg spin and overcame his apparent weakness. In a documentary named The Test, Australia's coach Justin Langer said that Kohli is the best player he has ever seen. This goes to show that every single team that he plays against sit and plan to get him out because they know that if he makes it past the first couple of balls, he's there to stay and take his team across the line. Virat Kohli's yearning for perfection and intent to win is what sets him apart from others.

So here's wishing one of the best batsmen ever, a pretty sharp fielder and my favourite Indian cricketer, a very happy birthday :)