He leaves behind a legacy etched in fire and will remain the most revolutionary figure in India’s Test cricket history.
There was a pall of melancholy since those reports emerged. The inevitable was looming, and the very idea of it was festering. Amidst so much happening around, only Virat Kohli could captivate such attention; he is the attention incarnate.
And when that dreaded moment arrived, those emotions reached a crescendo. You knew it was coming, even if every part of you wished otherwise. No influential figure was going to be big enough to influence his unyielding stance; once he thought he was done, he was done.
Now accolades will resound, untold stories will unfurl, and achievements will be commemorated. But none of those words, including my writing, can depict what Kohli in Test cricket was. A match made in heaven, as they say.
Everyone wants to be the best in this format, but Kohli’s stature was singular in redefining the very notion of excellence. He embodied the true meaning of Test cricket; he revived it in India and everywhere. He not only walked the talk; he was the talk.
Label it an exaggeration or whatever you want, but Test cricket is still popular partly because of Virat Kohli. With every match, he not only endorsed it but also redefined its boundaries. Be it aggression on the field or towering peaks with the bat, he excelled at everything with unrelenting dominance.
When Kohli stepped into Dhoni’s shoes, India’s seventh rank was a mere precursor to an era that would rewrite cricketing history. He brought the fast-bowling culture, which Ravi Shastri would define as “Bhaad mein gaya pitch”, uncompromising fitness, and a never-give-up attitude. He changed the way the Indian team approached a Test match.
Under him, India were an indomitable force at home, a team that would never buckle. India never lost a home Test series; heck, India lost only two matches out of 24. Spinners have always taken the centre stage in India, but pacers defined the team under his tenure, as they underwent a metamorphosis.
His overseas exploits cemented him as India’s greatest Indian Test captain. He redefined Indian cricket’s overseas narrative. Under him, India were expected to conquer any terrain, a benchmark other captains could not even dream of.
India’s maiden win on Australian soil remains his biggest achievement, but those narrow defeats defined Kohli. For him, safe play was never an option; he would take defeat, only at the expense of giving it a shot. Be it Adelaide 2014 or Johannesburg 2018, India under Kohli would always hunt for improbable victories.
All this, and we haven’t even touched the tip of the iceberg – his batting, you notice? Everything Kohli achieved as a leader stemmed from his sheer batting excellence. He just didn’t lead; he dictated the standard.
You remember all those great knocks off his bat and can still lose count somewhere midway. When Kohli hit his stride, pitches globally were at their most treacherous. It required a Virat Kohli peak to overcome those challenging pitches almost everywhere.
A large part of Kohli’s career has been about his technique, which was supposed to be a major hurdle. Undoubtedly, he hasn’t been the most gifted batter or technically sound. But even that wasn’t enough to stop Kohli from touching unprecedented heights while batting in the toughest era.
When Mitchell Johnson tried to threaten him, he wasn’t flustered, responding with monumental scores Down Under. He annihilated James Anderson’s menace in the dreaded English conditions on second attempt, after he had a forgettable tour in 2014, and effortlessly dismantled South Africa’s tactically precise attack, tailored to the surfaces. From Adelaide to Edgbaston to Centurion to Perth, Kohli built his legend in the furnace.
The number of times he fought a lone battle when others refused to support him remains the standout feature. Remember that gesture after the Perth ton in 2018? An otherwise relentless, garrulous guy let his bat do the talking on that and many other occasions, showing that he could do it all alone.
Again, he might not be the best batter, he might not have the most runs, but his impact far outweighs these mere parameters. His creed was aggression, aggression to be the best in the world, to overcome any hurdle, and rise above limitations others saw. Even during the slump in the last few years, Kohli churned out those 79 in Cape Town, 76 in Centurion, and 70 in Bengaluru.
At this moment, you’d feel for the batter replacing him at No.4. The benchmark is too high, and expectations are never-ending, as was the case with Kohli. Even if his successor achieves half of what Kohli did, he would have done a great job.
His mere presence was enough to market Test cricket. His name alone sold publications, and billboards beckoned fans. Even the most hostile crowds begrudgingly respected his fierce competitiveness.
No one gets everything, and Kohli doesn’t get a farewell Test either. But as fate would have it, he became the captain on his final day of Test cricket in Sydney when Jasprit Bumrah left the field. On top of that, he was in his element and gave it back to the hostile Aussie crowd, whom he had dealt with better than any other visiting player in history, right from when he famously flashed the middle finger at them on his debut tour.
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He mimicked the infamous sandpaper gate by emptying his pocket to rile the Aussie supporters. That somehow showed that the flame was still burning, the aggression was still there. Little did everyone know that it was his final act in Test cricket.
But it’s still fitting that Kohli signed off in a way he played all his career – fierce and unapologetic. He leaves behind a legacy etched in fire and will remain the most revolutionary figure in India’s Test cricket history. A batter who vanquished adversity, a leader who redefined the very fabric of Test cricket.
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