Oh Captain, My Captain!
Decided to take a few days to write this. Wanted to figure out exactly what I felt and now its been about a week or so since Virat Kohli stepped down as India’s Test Captain, it is a good time to talk about his legacy as captain and perhaps what he has left as a cricketer.
Kohli has always been someone who split opinions. Especially after MS Dhoni who won everything and was worshipped as a paragon of cool, Virat as the polar opposite. Hot headed, impulsive and perhaps a little self-centred, Kohli was viewed with suspicion when he was elected the successor as many did not think he could travel along the same path as Dhoni. They were right. Kohli was never going to do things any other way apart from his own. He wanted to create a team in his own image and that is what he did. India transformed from the team that stayed cool under pressure like Dhoni, into a team always up for a fight and wanting to get into their opponents face, just like Kohli. Both ways worked. Dhoni was an immensely successful captain, especially in limited overs where the value of being calm was worth its weight in gold. Kohli’s India were ultra aggressive and that, coupled with the finding of a once in a lifetime bowling attack helped them become the world’s best Test side but one that strangely under-performed in the shorter format.
If Dhoni was the master of a tight chase, then Kohli was the master of a chase. Any chase. Literally when he first took over as captain and for a period between 2016 and 2019, Kohli was untouchable as a batter in all formats. Even if his side was losing, Kohli had taken his game to an almost superhuman level, reeling off hundreds at will and winning matches at a glut. Kohli’s India were the dominant side coming into every ICC limited over tournament they entered yet they didn’t manage to win any of them. Falling short in semi finals and finals despite their captain’s best effort. This is a black mark against Virat. His story in the IPL is similar. RCB have many a time entered the tournament looking the top team, even finding form in its midst, generally with Kohli himself in masterly touch, yet they seem to crumble in pressure circumstances and as yet, have never won the coveted crown. India in ICC events under Kohli had a similar problem.
In the Test format though Kohli’s aggression was the key. India chased for dominant positions in games and now, with a bowling attack that rivalled the best around, they closed out games and won series. Kohli has led India to series wins in England (well they are 2–1 up), Australia and everywhere around the world except New Zealand and South Africa. Critics will point to those two being more black marks. Certainly this current series defeat to the Proteas will rankle. India won’t get a better chance but I would also point to test cricket being of a pretty low standard. England and Australia have been rebuilding or poor in Kohli’s time and South Africa have been in transition. New Zealand are the only side to really be consistent and they beat Kohli’s India in the final of the inaugural ICC Test championship final. Have Kohli’s India really been that good or is everyone else just not so good? It is a moot argument as you can only beat what’s there and with 40 wins in 68 matches, Kohli’s captaincy record is unparalleled for and Indian captain.
Off the field Kohli has been a terrific ambassador for Indian cricket. He has spoken with authority and clarity always and even in his less appealing moments on the field, I have never felt he shirked away with excuses. Yes he could look ugly on the field at times. His exaggerated send offs, his constant bickering with umpires when things didn’t go well and the latest silliness with the stump mic in South Africa, but everytime he did those things, he fronted up to the press and gave no quarter. You really felt that this was a man behaving because this is who he is, not some kind of put on theatrical show. Kohli wasn’t out to prove he was the alpha male. He knew he is the alpha male and perhaps, just perhaps, since he got married and now has entered fatherhood, that alpha male syndrome has just calmed down a little.
We all mature. It doesn’t mean we are less of a man, we are just different men. Virat Kohli will now need to transition from the man who is in the centre of every storm to a wise cricketer willing to help a younger team along. There is a new generation of cricketers coming through for India as Kohli’s team begins to look long in the tooth. Kohli needs to show those young guys how to build that hunger, concentration and desire to thrive on the world stage consistently. He can do it. However I believe he also needs to look at himself as well. He will know the last two years has been poor. He seems to switch off when he gets to fifty and is much more nervous starting out. I think his game needs to adapt and he needs a few months of working on how to do that as he can no longer fire himself up the way he once did. He will need to find an alternative and that could just be his need to get to 10K Test runs and 100 international hundreds. Unlike the Kohli of old, these are purely selfish goals which he never really harboured. You always felt all Captain Kohli’s hundreds were to get his side the win. Now Kohli 2.0 (or 3.0) needs to get these runs for him and the team will follow. He can. He is that good even if people still need reminding.
Virat Kohli in my opinion was a wonderful leader of men. He wasn’t the best tactical captain but is untouched as a batter who led by sheer weight of runs. He told his team how to play and prided himself in matching those words every time he stepped onto the field. They responded with some of India’s biggest series wins. India were the World No 1 and even now, many will feel they are the best Test side and perhaps best all format side in the world. That is what he leaves behind. Hundreds of brilliant memories for a nation to cherish. Thank you Captain.
