As a child, I remember Tendulkar surpassing almost every single bowling lineup in World cricket. Making cricket from being just a sport to a religion in the 1.2 billion strong people nation. Creating a mammoth of records and moreover setting standards par excellence.
But as he hung up his boots a couple of generations could not digest the fact that Tendulkar would no longer play cricket. We almost thought cricket was just Wood & Leather now. Nothing more!
And today here we are watching something extraordinary. A blend of grace, perfection, class, beauty and of course consistency. Virat Kohli has set the stage of World cricket on fire. Not only has he scored a lot of runs over the last couple of years but the way he is taking apart almost everything that is thrown up to him has certainly taken batsmanship to a level beyond imagination. Any format, any pitch, any country, any team, any occasion it really doesn”t matter for this man.
7212 runs in mere 171 matches including 25 tons at a staggering average of 51.51 in ODI”s till date and 3194 runs in 42 matches with a recent double ton under his belt in Test cricket is enough to make cricket experts and fanatics around the world spellbound. 2016 has already been a special year for Virat as far T20 cricket is concerned and now he is proving his mettle in Test cricket too which will only get better as the Indian team have a long Test season coming up. He is going through a phase, where you just have to sit back and enjoy the genius in action.
He walks down to the pitching side, shuffles the bat in his typical way, takes guard and says okay bring it on! Standing tall and hitting those soothing cover drives between short cover and mid-off is like an assurance that if there are dark clouds, there will definitely be a silver lining. The form he is in, he could actually score runs in sleep or saying even without a bat won”t be a hyperbole at all. You keep watching and he will keep scoring. As simple as that! Apart from everything else what makes this man different from others is the hunger he has within. Hunger to do well for his team. Hunger to score a ton every time he walks out to bat. Hunger to make his country proud. Hunger to play!
We are fortunate enough to see him bat just as we were to watch Tendulkar. Meanwhile, as I pen down this article Kohli is getting ready to allure all of us once again with his magic. So sit back, relax & enjoy something beyond extraordinary.
– by Yash Kashikar
