Virat Kohli: Modern-day Test cricket's biggest poster boy turns 11

"I think we have all got to say 'Thank you, Virat!' He loves Test cricket and has made it his priority. India are the powerhouse of world cricket, and you've got the biggest superstar on the planet in Virat Kohli saying that Test cricket is important,"- the Late great Shane Warne was magnanimous in his praise for Virat Kohli after the superstar cricketer led his side to a sensational win over England at the Oval last summer.

In that Test match, Kohli was at his absolute best as a leader and tactician. In fact, in that entire series, Virat showcased just how important a figure he is, not only for India or their Test team but for red-ball cricket in general.

He didn't have a great series with the bat, but his on-field tactics, his infectious energy, his unrelenting passion for his team and the format, and his 'no holds barred attitude' lightened up the 5-match series to the hilt, making it a must-see spectacle.

As I recall that memorable summer of high-octane Test cricket, my mind instantly goes back to 20th June 2011 when a 'brash' young Delhi boy was handed his maiden cap at Kingston, Jamaica.

Kohli entered Test cricket at a time when questions around the future of the longest format were constantly under the scanner (just as it is today) thanks to the T20 revolution led by the Indian Premier League.

With the IPL rolling out life-changing contracts for just two months of cricket, there was an increasing fear that players might cut short their red-ball career and transform themselves into a T20 League globetrotters.

It was also when Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and VVS Laxman were approaching the end of their glittering careers.

With India being the epicentre of cricket, its status in Test cricket is directly proportional to the overall health of the format.

In short, not only India, but Test cricket, in general, needed a new superstar, someone who would capture not only the imagination of fans with his skills but also someone who genuinely cared for the format. Someone who would draw in the generation of T20 fans and hook it to the longest format.

Eleven years down the line, it is fair to say that he has transcended the expectations laid on him- whether a batsman, a leader, or a brand ambassador for the format.

Humble beginnings, controversies and a stunning redemption

Kohli was already an established white-ball star when he made his Test debut against the West Indies 11 summers ago.

But, red-ball cricket is a different gravy altogether, and Virat found that out the hard way as he struggled against pace bowlers of the West Indies and Australia in his first 5 Tests.

Between these two series, he was dropped from the England tour, and calls for another axe became even louder after his consecutive failures in Melbourne and Sydney.

As we would find out in years to follow, Kohli's at his best when he is pushed to a corner.  

And cornered he was: by the hostile Aussie crowd, whom he had famously flipped a bird at, and by his fans and former cricketers.

He responded to his doubters by scoring a fighting 44 & 75 at the W.A.C.A and then his maiden ton at the ground, which he would make his own in years to follow- the Adelaide Oval.

The ‘heir apparent’ takes baby steps towards becoming the King

2011-14 was a dark phase for Indian Test cricket. But, Virat’s rise as a quintessential leader of the batting group and his aggressive mindset coupled with his love for the format gave hope. He backed up his heist in Adelaide with several important hundreds at home against New Zealand and England.

With Sachin calling time on his legendary career in November 2013, Kohli was given the honour of batting at a position where ‘God’ sat for 24 years. It was a symbolic moment as two years ago, and it was Kohli only who had said, ‘’He has carried the nation for 24 years, it was time we carried him,’

It was time to walk the talk for Virat. And the first assignment was the sternest he could have imagined. 

Great cricketers shine the brightest when they find themselves in an obscure situation. The sheer excitement of proving their skillset in the most challenging conditions and against a great opponent tends to bring out the best in them. 

And, so when Kohli walked out to bat on a green seamer at Jo’Burg after a rampaging Dale Steyn had just ripped out two of his teammates, there was little doubt that he would thrive in those conditions.

A pristine 119 was followed by a glorious 96 to kickstart the ‘Virat Kohli’ era.

Kohli’s pre-2014 performances in Test cricket often get overlooked just because he failed so miserably against the swinging Dukes ball in England and perhaps also because performances and failures in England and Australia tend to get more hype and coverage.

Between January 2012 till the start of the 2014 England tour, Kohli scored 1519 runs in 32 innings at an average of 54.25 with six 100s. More than half of those runs- 775 in 14 innings with three hundred- came overseas.

Yet another roadblock and yet another redemption as Captain Kohli arrives on the scene

Kohli endured a significant roadblock in his Test career in England in 2014, where he kept nicking off to the English seamers, especially James Anderson. By his admission, that was the most challenging phase of his career.

This was the second instance in Kohli’s career where serious questions were raised about his red-ball technique.

But, as was the case in Australia in 2012, the legendary cricketer once again staged his redemption at his favourite venue in the winter that followed. The roots for this redemption were laid when Kohli flew to Mumbai to spend some time with Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar.

Kohli fought back with two glorious tons at the Adelaide Oval. It was also his first Test as captain, and the way he responded with the bat and as a leader during the 4th innings run-chase, it was refreshing to see it come from an Indian skipper.

Despite stellar efforts from Virat and Murali Vijay, India lost the Test, but their positive approach won the hearts of even their harshest critics. The ‘Kohli era’ officially began in the Sydney Test after MS Dhoni shocked everyone with his sudden retirement at the end of the Boxing Day Test.

His captaincy also started with his peak in the longest format as over the course of the next 4.5 years, and he’d go on a leather hunt, obliterating the best in their den. Between Jan 2015-Nov and 2019, Virat scored 4848 runs in 84 innings at an average of 62.15 with 18 hundred and as many as seven double-centuries, including 593 runs in England in 2018.

More than his numbers with the bat, Kohli’s most significant contribution to the Indian Test team is the ‘fitness culture’, which has paved the way for a fast bowling revolution in the past eight years. As a result, Kohli presided over the most significant era of Indian fast bowling, with Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, and Mohammed Shami bamboozling batting attacks worldwide in their den consistently.

Kohli was a fast bowler’s captain. He loved egging them on; he loved involving the crowd and creating a theatre as his 'horse of apocalypse' charged in.

His ultimate dream was to take India to the top of the ladder in the format he loves the most, and it's fair to say he walked the talk there too.

Under his captaincy, India moved from 7th in the world to the top-ranked side in late 2016. Literally unbeatable at home, the team scripted memorable series wins in Sri Lanka [2015 & 2017], West Indies [2016 & 2019], and Australia [2018-19], besides securing a 2-1 in the 5-match series in England.

India’s overseas cycle of 2017-18 coincided with the start of the seam-bowling era where teams, boasting of deeper pace attacks, began to exploit the home advantage to the hilt. Kohli led his side from the front here and consistently scored big runs against some of the great bowlers of his era like Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc.

Kohli’s team stayed at the top for 43 consecutive months between October 2016 and April 2020, winning three Test matches. However, reversals in New Zealand [2020], WTC final [2021] and twice in South Africa [2018 & 2021-22] proved to be the roadblocks that undeniably dented the legacy of his captaincy stint. Still, as they say, a leader isn’t judged only by mere numbers or his achievements/failures. He’s also considered whether he left his side in a better place than when he inherited the post?

Kohli certainly did that to the hilt.

As Virat enters the 12th year of his Test career, he faces yet another roadblock. While he has peeled out some of his best knocks during this barren phase, the fact is that those performances have been few and far between. It was at Edgbaston [2018] where Virat silenced his doubters with a picturesque 149. It's time he does the same this July.