IPL 6: Virat Kohli - why so serious?

One handed pick up, throw and bang – not once but twice in two balls. The first direct hit left Dinesh Karthik yards short of the crease while the second one riled up a controversy. Virat Kohli not only hit the stumps twice but also the headlines, yet again.

This IPL has all been about this superstar from India. The IPL-6 started off with the news of him taking over the reins of Royal Challengers Bangalore and then he set the tournament on fire with his brilliant batting. Then came the bust up with his Delhi-mate Gautam Gambhir when RCB took on KKR and last night, he was booed by the Mumbai crowd.

Virat Kohli is a superstar and superstars make news. Some make news with their achievements in their field of work while the others flaunt their indifferent attitude. Over the last few years, Virat Kohli has created his own genre; he has set the stage on fire with both his batting prowess and with his antics. He is one of those who hates to lose and goes that extra mile to be on the winning side. In his short career, he has had his share of tiffs with the crowd and opposition players and the Indian public has happily lapped up all his machismo acts.

However, last night, the game changed. First, Kohli almost changed the game with his fielding skills and then the crowd gave him a piece of their mind when he came into bat. Much to the astonishment of the viewers on TV, the entire ground chanted “Cheater…Cheater…” that left the RCB captain emotional and at a loss of words.

It all happened when Ambati Rayudu and Vinay Kumar got into a tangle. Virat Kohli displayed his stunning ability that must have impressed a couple of extraordinary fielding stars sitting in the Mumbai dugout. It was a legitimate dismissal and Kohli was right to appeal for it. The Mumbai crowd, though, wasn’t too impressed. They looked on it as an act of cheating and spilled their venom at the latest poster boy of Indian cricket. They, perhaps, expected Kohli to withdraw the appeal and bring Rayudu back.

Should Kohli have withdrawn his appeal and called the batsman back? Should he have done what MS Dhoni did to Ian Bell? Was he wrong in appealing?

The answer is no, he wasn’t. Rayudu should have been more careful and Vinay Kumar did nothing wrong. It might have earned his team a few points in the fair play chart but when you’re involved in a high voltage clash, fair play points is the last thing that crosses one’s mind.

Now, was the crowd wrong in booing? Except for the fact that the grammatically correct chant would have been “Cheat” and not “Cheater”, they weren’t either. They came to support their side and they did it with full passion. It was perhaps one of the few moments that set this IPL aside from the rest of the editions. Over the last five years, the franchises have struggled to build a loyal support base that recognized themselves with the franchise rather than with a certain superstar. Most of India supports Mumbai for Sachin Tendulkar while KKR was deserted last season by the Kolkatans in favour of the Pune Warriors. Except Chennai Super Kings, who plays in front of a “knowledgeable” Chennai crowd, none of the other franchises have managed to achieve this objective until this IPL. So, the crowd at Wankhede might have stretched it a little too far in calling him a “cheat” but they weren’t wrong in lending their voice as the 12^th man of their home team.

“I don’t know what is wrong with people in this venue”, said a visibly ruffled Virat Kohli. He looked stressed and sounded emotional in front of the reporters when he complained that the crowd should have remembered that he played for India too. Well, last night, he wasn’t playing for India. He was playing as the opposition team captain and the crowd only played their part in piling on the misery. It was a big match where emotions ran high and it was perhaps one of those “heat of the moment” incidents that often happen on a cricket field.

1987, Wankhede Stadium – Sunil Gavaskar

2005, Wankhede Stadium – Sachin Tendulkar

2005, Eden Gardens – Rahul Dravid

2013, Wankhede Stadium – Virat Kohli

It’s an elite list that comprises of India’s best cricketers throughout the generations. However, the above dates enlist the days that these heroes would love to forget. Last night, Virat Kohli saw the real face of the Indian cricket fans. They are passionate, supportive but they can really get under your skin when they want to. They forget too easy and spare no one. The Wankhede once booed Sachin Tendulkar for his painfully slow 34 ball 1 run innings and the Eden Gardens barracked Rahul Dravid for leaving Sourav Ganguly out.

Now Virat Kohli finds himself into this elite list and he shouldn’t be the one complaining. He’s passionate, plays the game hard and wants to win. He never takes a backward step and has always been at the throat of the opposition. So, if the crowd was passionate to see their team win, Kohli shouldn’t have got so serious about it. This IPL has got him a little rattled. Even though he’s been superb with the bat, captaining a high profile side is surely teaching him a thing or two. Gavaskar, Tendulkar and Dravid weren’t spared even when they wore the Indian colours; so being roughed up by the crowd in an IPL game shouldn’t bother him much.

IPL is a strange competition. Here brothers fight against each other, Ponting and Harbhajan embrace friendship and superstars turn into villains in a matter of three hours. It may be scripted but it can make even the best lose the plot. It’s fun and it’s tough. After all…“Yeh IPL hai boss … yahan… Koi nahi bachega!”