“That’s it boys. This is f****** our home town. Nobody’s going to take it away from us.”
These were Virat Kohli’s words after India had defeated Australia in the World T20 earlier this year. The words came out awkwardly stilted. Some said that it looked rather expositional, perhaps even contrived, but as is Kohli’s way, my feeling was that he was overloaded with so much passion and adrenaline that he became transiently incoherent. This passion is precisely why a billion fans have embraced Kohli as India’s latest demi-god.
Unlimited potential with the bat in all formats, a growing tattoo collection, a well-manicured beard, trendy clothes, outwardly brash. Perhaps analogous to Australia’s Michael Clarke, Kohli is a new man for a new era. He’ll sell deodorants to adolescent men, while gossip magazines will sell bumper volumes if they can nab a cover with a private photo of him and a female friend. He is India’s Test captain, and awaits the inevitable promotion to both ODI and T20 captain once the incumbent steps aside.
Meanwhile, MS Dhoni wears the look of a traumatized captain. He’s been through battles. He’s suffered through unspeakable traumas. His floppy boyish locks are now an army-issue buzzcut, with his hair the colour of a ‘before’ picture in a ‘just For men’ advert. And who could blame him? He’s worn the pressure of the biggest job in cricket for years, and with great success.
Captaining India’s death bowlers is an unforgiving task at the best of times.
Perhaps Dhoni swallowed the pressure and gave the appearance of a calm exterior, but inside he was burning? Perhaps this is why during the IPL, as he captains the ludicrously-named Rising Pune SuperGiants - what on earth is a SuperGiant, and why and how is it Rising? - Dhoni gives the look of a man who might well have just had enough. His affable, calm charm in post-match conferences have now become a man speaking on autopilot. The words are the same, but the passion has dissipated. Dhoni now looks at the post-match interviewer with a thousand-yard stare.
It’s been a brutal IPL season for Dhoni. His new franchise has been woefully sub-par, having been afflicted by injuries to key players: to date, Kevin Pietersen, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith and Faf du Plessis have all suffered the curse of the SuperGiants. Meanwhile, Dhoni’s compass seems to have lost his magnetic north, with a bizarre lack of overs for his go-to stalwart Ravi Ashwin. Meanwhile, he has overplayed two of the leakiest death bowlers in modern cricket, in Albie Morkel and Thisara Perera.
Granted, there is little that a captain can do on the field if his bowlers are letting him down - after all, Dhoni captained Munaf Patel and Sreesanth at their worst. However, Dhoni used to be able to lead his side with the bat, often adding a few sixes at the death to change the course of a match.
These days, he seems to be content with biding his time, inadvertently drifting into Misbah-esque oblivion. The days of DHONI! GOES FOR THE BIG ONE! are long gone. These are the days of Dhoni pats the ball back to the bowler.
At the same time, Kohli is tearing up IPL 2016 with the bat [at the time of writing, he is currently the tournament’s leading run-scorer], while his team Royal Challengers Bangalore are managing to do their best to raise his blood pressure. While Dhoni absorbs pressure, Kohli needs an outlet. Both captains have been rather blunt compared to previous Indian captains, but Kohli in particular hasn’t been afraid to name and shame.
After the surprise dropping of RCB’s 18 year old chubby wunderkid Sarfraz Khan, Kohli said:
He understands the areas he needs to work on as far as fitness and fielding is concerned. We understand that the position he plays at, he is unlikely to get more than 10-15 balls to play. You can’t afford to have too many guys on the field who are not up to the mark with their speed.Virat Kohli
Ouch.
The format is fast and you need guys who are fit and can get to the ball quickly to save you five-six runs. He understands that. Sachin (Baby) in that aspect is committed, fit and works on those things. So it is a matter of who is working hard on all three aspects of the game. If you are not a bowler, then you need to be up with your fielding and batting. Me as captain will go with a player who gives me 120% on the field, and is committed to every ball that he fields.Virat Kohli
Double-ouch.
Then, when Virat was asked about Chris Gayle being left out of the team, he said:
No, Gayle wasn’t rested, we chose Travis Head in his place. We felt we needed more solidity in the middle order.Virat Kohli
Triple-ouch.
Kohli might have an ego the size of a small planet, but he certainly isn’t afraid to pierce the fragile bubbles of his millionaire co-stars. He is prepared to make tough calls on theoretical grounds and cricket morals, and this can only be a good thing for India.
the Dhoni era nears its end, these soundbytes from Kohli take on more significance. Yes, it’s “only the IPL,” but he is setting the standard for what he expects: passion, excellence and commitment.
The era of Kohli as all-format Indian captain is nearly upon us, and India’s fans should be rubbing their hands in anticipation.
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