Virat Kohli is an exceptionally gifted cricketer and has a persona that invites awe and disquiet in equal measure. A man whose mastery over his craft, intent and self belief combine with an overt — some would say ugly — aggression, to make him a mirror reflection of what India is today.
He and his team are rewriting old scripts, setting new benchmarks and are well on their way to be crowned the best Indian team ever and a superpower in world cricket. If it sorts out its opening woes and finds a No. 6 batsman of V.V.S. Laxman’s quality, it could well become the next ‘invincible’ team of international cricket. India has never seen a pace attack of this quality and hostility and neither has it seen a batsman of Kohli’s skill and temperament. The more challenging the conditions, the better he performs.
What makes Kohli an extraordinary figure in world sport is his split persona that is an unlikely combination of two disparate traits: he is as calm and still as a monk while batting and as volcanic as smouldering lava while marshalling his troops. He loves to be the agent provocateur who draws pleasure at needling his rivals, mocking them to force them into mistakes. His intensity while on the field, reacting with tremendous energy to every moment of action is great theatre, riveting stuff that draws admiration and criticism in equal measure. World cricket has, perhaps, not seen a better sledge or someone whose range of facial expressions can be the envy of thespians. There seems to be rage within him that finds physical expression whenever a wicket falls and surprisingly, he explodes even when he reaches a landmark while batting. It is hard to understand the mouthing of expletives and show of anger when he completes his century. You wonder, is this for real?
Those steeped in the ‘traditions’ of cricket and the spirit of the game may be aghast at his behaviour, but he finds sanction for his actions in a vast majority. A majority which believes India has, for too long, been meek and timid and is now paying back in the same coin.
It is the same reaction that Sourav Ganguly’s aggressive ways as Indian captain received when India began its climb to the World No. 1 ranking under his captaincy in the beginning of the 21st century. India still celebrates the image of a bare-chested Ganguly waving his shirt from the Lord’s balcony in celebration of a stunning win over England in a one-day match. Ganguly was the first Indian captain who overtly needled his rivals, especially the Australians, much to the delight of fans used to the timid surrender of their team in foreign lands. This was the beginning of a “New” India, more confident of itself and keen at striking back and shedding its image of being docile and suffering from an inferiority complex.
India certainly was changing as the feature writer of England’s leading newspaper, The Guardian, found to his discomfort while at the Wankhede stadium to report on a Test match in 2006. In the usual chaos on the match eve at the ground, he was jostled and pushed around while trying to make his way to the centre of the ground. India has changed, he was to confess later. “In earlier times, my white skin was my password to go anywhere at the ground. Now I fear I might get lynched.”
This incident could well be a metaphor for the changing India, more true today than it may have been then. Ganguly, though by that time having been replaced by Rahul Dravid as Indian captain, had become a symbol of an assertive if not more intolerant India.
Ganguly’s long-term successor, M.S. Dhoni, was a more patient man, not given to theatrics or creating unpleasantness through his actions. His calming influence in no way undermined his team’s strength. Dhoni, like Ganguly before him and Kohli now, was equally passionate and driven to take India to new heights, though his methods were more sombre.
Dhoni’s tenure could be defined as a lull before the stormy era unleashed by Kohli. A far more aggressive, in-your-face man than Ganguly ever was, Kohli is a self-professed believer in a ‘win at any cost’ attitude. As India celebrates the greatness of Kohli the batsman and gets a vicarious pleasure in his aggressive intimidation of opponents, there is a need to pause and reflect. Australia, the team they are confronting at the moment, may not be an example to emulate.
No team in cricket history, despite its massive successes, is as disliked as the Australians because of their aggressive sledging and a ‘win at any cost’ mindset. It is this attitude that the Australians realized led to the ball-tampering incident in South Africa that forced their board to ban their captain, Steve Smith, and David Warner. Winning is important, but is it the only thing?
