In cricket, it is the captain who bears the cross. The pressure to perform consistently, individually and as a team, has caused great players to shun the mantle of captaincy. For example, Sachin Tendulkar, arguably the greatest batsman produced by India thus far, accomplished little while captaining the side. The burden of captaincy had taken some of the sheen of his batting. But the current Indian skipper, Virat Kohli, seems to relish the challenge of leadership. His record as a batsman remains glittering as ever. The fact that Mr Kohli has become the first player in the history of the game to win not one, or two, but three top awards — the International Cricket Council’s Cricketer of the Year, Test Cricketer of the Year and ODI Cricketer of the Year — in a calendar year bears testimony to his unique ability to seamlessly balance the demands of batsmanship and captaincy. These honours reaffirm Mr Kohli’s special talents: he has dominated both the longer and one of the shorter versions of the game, leaving his competitors behind. It must also be mentioned that Mr Kohli has the added responsibility of leading the Indian team in all formats of the game. There is another heartening feature about Mr Kohli’s accomplishment. During 2018, India had played a lot of cricket overseas — in Australia, England and South Africa — tours that are considered to be the toughest tests for Indian batsmen who are adjudged to be uncomfortable with the pace and bounce offered by the surfaces there. But Mr Kohli has tamed these terrors: the runs that he piled and his healthy average are proof of that. India also registered their first-ever series win in both Tests and one-day internationals against Australia on their soil under Mr Kohli’s leadership.

Mr Kohli’s exuberance may raise eyebrows among traditional cricket lovers. But there can be no denying the fact that the Indian captain is a colossal figure of the modern game. Youngsters around the world would not be faulted for choosing Mr Kohli as their model for his prodigious abilities. But a captain’s job does not end with scoring runs, taking wickets, or winning games. Mr Kohli’s legacy would be judged by the standards that Indian cricket would achieve by the time he hangs up his boots. He, along with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, should continue to endorse an institutional culture that rises above parochialism to extend all kinds of support to nurture talent. Securing the future of Indian cricket remains one among many of Mr Kohli’s formidable responsibilities.