Why I respect Virat more than Sachin !
Coming back from injury is always difficult- not only in
cricket, in writing as well. What I suffered was a self-inflicted one- laziness
(again??!!)- World cup cricket and IPL sponsored laziness (Craziness as a free
add on to that)!!
You could feel the nervous energy while returning after a
long break, need to start from the scratch. Self-doubts would have rusted the
confidence.
I have the advantage of choosing my own pitch to bat on. So
is the easy (hopefully) T20 flat batting wicket –“Why I like Virat more than
Sachin!”
Virat Kohli – you like him or hate him, but can’t ignore
him. I belong to the first category since long time, even before his much
talked about bollywood love affair.Tried to recollect, assimilate the reasons…
First and the foremost is, his batting. Successful international
test match batsmen do need skills, other than perfect batting techniques
to survive. Upper storey must be straight and strong. Handling the initial
success, fame and money at younger age – not many sustain these tests. India might have
thousands of youngsters with similar or superior batting techniques than Virat.
Yet, only a very few would become Virats, Rahuls and Sachins.
In a recent interview David Whatmore -who coached Indian U
19 team to world cup victory, which was captained by Virat- said , "There were so many talented kids like him in that team, but only
one- Virat made into successful international carrier”. He has been an exceptional
talent.
He lost his father when he was just 18 years old. According to his mother that changed his life. Overnight he became a different person - more matured and determined.
The two important qualities I like about his batting are – first, he scores more while chasing, enjoys chasing ( off field too.. he he !). Second, his respect for true cricket- test cricket and the way he approaches test matches while playing abroad – on a pacy bouncy pitches.
He lost his father when he was just 18 years old. According to his mother that changed his life. Overnight he became a different person - more matured and determined.
The two important qualities I like about his batting are – first, he scores more while chasing, enjoys chasing ( off field too.. he he !). Second, his respect for true cricket- test cricket and the way he approaches test matches while playing abroad – on a pacy bouncy pitches.
If I remember
correctly he scored an aggressive century against SA in SA in the opening match, that too batting first. We had almost won that test match, but ended up in a draw
due to our poor bowling performance. Even during his debut series against Australia, he was the only one who took head on with the mighty Aussies (big names failed). During
the recent Australia series too his batting was simply superb! I have never seen
these cricketing skills with any other Indian player. Dravid, Sachin and
Laxman are there in that list but Virat, without any second thought tops the list. The impact Virat has on overseas test matches, none of our big stars -Rahul,Sachin,Saurav and laxman- had, individually (Even though that Virat - impact had not resulted in big victories so far). Collectively Rahul,Sachin,Laxman and Saurav had some outstanding overseas victories.(I
know many of you may not agree, would question me for this)
Few unforgettable innings for me ….
At bull ring -Johannesburg test wanderer’s stadium, on a
fast bouncy track batting first he set up the series nicely for India ….
At WACA one of the quickest and bounciest pitches on the
earth he top scored in both the innings 44,75…..when India’s biggies were
fading away- failing collectively ,subsequently scored his first century at
Adelaide, announcing his arrival into international Test arena in style.
No one can forget the innings he played against Aussies in Adelaide during the recent trip (2014-2015 Tour), he scored centuries in both the innings and almost won the match for us. We lost by 48 runs. He was criticised for the overambitious chase. But imagine if we had won that first test, it would have been considered equal to another world cup victory. That is Virat for you!
No one can forget the innings he played against Aussies in Adelaide during the recent trip (2014-2015 Tour), he scored centuries in both the innings and almost won the match for us. We lost by 48 runs. He was criticised for the overambitious chase. But imagine if we had won that first test, it would have been considered equal to another world cup victory. That is Virat for you!
He played so many unforgettable one day innings, I remember this particular one against SL in Australia at Hobart during Commonwealth Bank
series 2012.
India needed to chase 321 in 40 overs to stay alive in the
series. India lost 2 quick wickets, Virat made 133 in 86 balls and we chased down
the target in 36.4 overs!
Next is, his aggressive nature. Some may dislike it, but I admire.
Easy to follow someone else’s path. Paving your own way and being successful in
that – a difficult task, not many prefer to take that risk.
The kind of lifestyle he leads, he would be in the limelight always.
He would be seen and analyzed with microscope by breaking news hungry media. One should be exremely confident about his own abitities to invite such pressure. It
seems he loves that and takes that as a challenge.
He works hard on his fitness. Currently he seems to be the
fittest Indian cricketer.
How many Indians would be able to handle(accept) a successful Bollywood girlfriend?
That too gracefully accepting (???) her to work the same way she used to. Don’t
forget the lip locking scenes in PK, NH 10 and Bombay Velvet.
This is the most admirable quality.
From outside you may notice only flamboyant life style,
bollywood girlfriend and crores of money. But deep inside, one can find - natural
ability, determination, focus, discipline, honesty and candidness, in Kohli.
These are all the qualities made me to respect him more than
Sachin. Mind you, I am not asking Bharat Ratna for Kohli!
No one is perfect. He needs to learn about humility and mature as
a person and captain. Hopefully he will...
With this article I salute our newly made test match captain
Virat Kohli, and wish him all the best!
And, before that I have to make a confession to Kohli…
“Sorry Virat, even though I respect you more than Sachin, I cannot
have your pin ups as I had Sachin’s in my room.
I have crossed that age long ago.
But, still young enough to have your girlfriend’s poster….Ha...Ha…Ha!”
Cheers,
02-06-15,
Chennai.
Cheers,
02-06-15,
Chennai.
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