Virat, Viv and Pant
Some very unpopular opinions follow. Trolls turn from here, please
I guess some in my ultra-limited readership have seen David Gower grill Joe Root after the Ashes. Will Sunil Gavaskar be able to do that to Virat Kohli in our cricketing system? On the contrary, Sunny G has to say “I don’t know Virat personally, so I won’t be able to comment on whether he is emotional.” I have seen sports journalists fumble and hesitate to utter one word critiquing Kohli. In fact, a few years back, when I wanted to write an article on Kohli, my boss said, “log bohot gaaliyaan denge. Le payega?” Abhi to le paaunga, sir. Yet, I think I should start with a disclaimer. So, here goes…
Disclaimer: The article is absolutely personal and comes from the brain of a cricket lover who is caught in stupid romantic nostalgia and has zero knowledge of politics and cricketing techniques. The article is more of a reaction to certain social media claims and questions by friends and lovers.
Claim #1: ‘They’ say Virat Kohli is a bad captain
No guys, NO ONE has ever said Virat Kohli is a bad captain. Especially in Tests. But the man has to understand that if he doesn’t win ICC trophies, his role will be questioned, the way he and his coach run the team will be questioned. At least, ASSESSED. A major part of Kohli’s stint has been through a non-existent BCCI. But that doesn’t hold true anymore, especially with Ganguly.
He CANNOT do certain things like (a) sacking a coach, (b) calling the rival/future captain to the meeting and suggesting he shouldn’t be the next captain, (c) trying to end a prime commentator’s career, (d) calling the chief of selectors AND BCCI president liars or (e) attacking the broadcaster over a DRS. In another era, most of these actions would have garnered heavy punishments. But cricket now is a shrunken game with India ruling it and VK, being the most bankable, biggest icon, is not touched. Usually. When he IS touched, he acts like an adamant kid, throwing the captaincy mantle, almost trying to prove he is irreplaceable, not accepting offers to lead on his 100th Test because “one match makes no difference”. Paeans will be written over his great captaincy journey and his greater curtain call. For me, giving up Test captaincy at such a juncture was irresponsible on his part. Probably even playing a little to the gallery. This takes me to the next point.
Claim #2: ‘They’ say Virat Kohli is a choker
Again, guys, no one has actually said this and has asked him to leave captaincy to concentrate on his batting. But then, it’s not that bad an idea. Kohli is definitely the finest batsman of this generation (taking all formats into consideration), so great that an absence of a century becomes an issue. But it IS an issue because he knows his potential and knows how his underperforming might hurt the team. The fact remains that he has not scored a century and is only second to David Warner in holing out, for quite some time now.
Everyone knows there is nothing wrong with his technique. Probably it’s only his head (not the position, the inside) that is in the wrong place and that’s making him fail. Leaving captaincy is probably a good decision because everyone is sure this will make him an even more dangerous batsman because he can probably concentrate a lot more on batting.
P.S.: I just want to add a point. Years ago, Sunny G had spoken while in the commentator’s box: “Kohli’s front leg opens towards cover. He might have problems with a moving ball that’s leaving him.” Gavaskar would probably not remember. He has had to swallow some very bitter pills recently. But I rest my case.
Claim #3: You call VK out, but you glorify Viv
My best friends, cricket lovers at that, have charged me with this. They ask whether Sir Vivian Richards would have survived criticism with his ‘attitude’ in the present era. Well, he didn’t, actually. The era he played in was also an era of more freedom for the media and journalists who were caustic antagonists at worst and liberated free-speakers at best. Journalists didn’t tremble while writing an article against a cricket player and one didn’t have to be a former international player to utter anything about sports (because what does he know?). Secondly, most of these journalists were White and hence, the ‘hatred’ against Viv can very well be imagined.
Now, this brings me to Sir Viv’s ‘attitude’. I am not a fan of the man who pressured the umpire into declaring a batsman out though the latter didn’t touch the ball in any way.
I am a fan of the ‘Bl*ck b*****d’ who started his career in English counties, shared a flat with his best friend and toughest rival and fought against racism all through his life. Viv’s attitude was a statement, a weapon against the White players, writers and watchers who, to quote Viv, “thought it was their birthright to win”. While the Windies were playing cricket a la ‘Fire in Babylon’, Viv was turning into a deity, uniting a very divided society of very different islands. With him, the Caribbean islanders had one figure to look up to. In this, probably only Sachin Tendulkar came close to Viv (and this is why I do not believe, Dr Tharoor, that Virat Kohli carried a heavier burden than Tendulkar. No one in the history of cricket did).
Probably this is how generations remember icons. Contemporaries would slam the ‘attitude’ and the ‘arrogance’. Once the generational noise subsides, the value of that attitude’s effect can be analyzed by the next generation. I hope somewhere in the future another cricket-lover is sitting on his bed, finding out the great value Ricky Ponting or Virat Kohli left with their attitudes. The many impossible fights they had to face. After all, someone has recently implied that ‘goodness’ won’t let you survive in the world of cricket.
Adjunct: One of the greatest additions to cricket that Kohli’s captaincy has made is apparently Rishabh Pant. Here, VK and Ganguly unite. A supreme talent, they say. An impossible talent who can score 100 with ease while the rest of the team manages 98. A talent who can step out to Anderson and reverse slap Archer, a talent who can score impossible wins against Australia, almost singlehandedly.
My singular humble question is, won’t Pant ever be told to value his wicket? Everyone has talked about Pant’s brilliant innings in the recent Cape Town Test that India lost. No one has spoken of the impossible shots he kept on attempting and the 3rd-ball singles he kept on taking. In the first ODI following this, Pant again got out in a strange fashion. This has happened time and again, Pant getting out in a difficult situation, crossing the line of carefree to careless. When will he take more responsibility? Batting is his prime responsibility, isn’t it? If he gets out to a good ball, that’s alright. But it gets embarrassing seeing a batsman keep on trying outrageous shots like Pant sometimes does.
Sunil Gavaskar says Pant should be made captain to give him a taste of responsibility. What do you say?