There are only a handful of games that Virat Kohli will play on his home turf in Delhi. That explains the deafening clamour for passes for Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) weekday match against Delhi Capitals in the corridors of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).
The Evolution of a Legend
From a brash non-conformist youngster to a spiritually driven statesman, the legend of Kohli is a story of constant evolution. It is a process that does not cease, one that inspires awe in people who witness it firsthand. It has allowed him to go shoulder-to-shoulder with a younger generation that is rewriting the grammar of T20 batting, a process that helps him retain his superstardom even when an anti-superstar culture has been initiated in Indian cricket.
IPL's Transformation into a Power-Hitting Spectacle
The IPL has transcended to a level where it is close to being dubbed as a different sport to what is being played around the world. On Sunday, a staggering 986 runs were scored in 77.2 overs in two matches. The use of unabated power, force, and physicality behind those runs could match the violence of any action movie. At the other end of the spectrum is Kohli, who uses his bat as a fine piece of equipment that shreds the morale of bowling attacks bit by bit, over by over, match by match.
Even as the world was recovering from Sunday's gory run fest — which saw 265 and 229 being comfortably chased down — one must recall that it was Kohli who played the lead role in a comfortable 200-plus chase against Gujarat Titans an evening before. The gold standard in batting in Indian cricket for the last 15 years, his legacy has quietly influenced the renaissance of India's contemporary T20 batting.
Rediscovering Conventional Shot-Making
The funky ramp shots, scoops, and audacious reverse sweeps are barely seen in T20 cricket now. RCB captain Rajat Patidar and Devdutt Padikkal — RCB's engine room in the middle overs — have redefined themselves as T20 batters this year, banking on conventional shot-making. They spent the entire evening at the Kotla hitting big shots down the ground.
"I remember a few years ago, there used to be a lot of these scoops and other funky shots. Now, it is about how players can just check their drives. I would say people are focusing more on making sure their normal shots have a lot more power added to clear the boundary," RCB mentor Dinesh Karthik said on Sunday.
Kohli's Insatiable Hunger for Excellence
That Kohli is still challenging the next generation of India's T20 batting stars for the Orange Cap (highest run-scorer) is a testimony to his insatiable hunger for excellence. Ironically, this is the format that he first quit in international cricket two years ago when questions were raised on his ability to keep up with the times. Now, when the cricket world has embraced scores of 225 and beyond as the IPL's new normal, Kohli has stayed relevant and serves as a perfect example for his peers.
RCB mentor Dinesh Karthik attributes this to the man's stubbornness to trust his methods. "He goes back every year and assesses what he has done. He comes back with a very stubborn plan and gets it done, not on match days alone but the way he practices as well," Karthik said. "The youngsters in the team are constantly asking me what Virat bhaiya is doing differently. Credit to him that he constantly rediscovers himself with every passing year and keeps up with the pace of this game where some of the newer players are batting at insane strike rates."
