The King is dead, long live the King.
It would appear that Virat Kohli’s coronation as Indian Cricket’s batting megastar is complete. A process that began when he overshadowed Sachin Tendulkar during their partnership in an Asia Cup clash against Pakistan in 2012 has come full circle with his innings against Pakistan in the World T20 and his gesture towards Tendulkar upon completing his half century.
Both symbolically and given the context of the game the inference to be drawn was clear; Kohli’s importance to Team India has reached almost Tendulkar-esque levels of importance. However, as masterful as his innings was and as heart-warming his gesture, the last thing Team India needs is another Tendulkar-esque figure.
I believe that Sachin Tendulkar is the single greatest cricketer India has ever produced. His mastery with the bat inspired millions and won India many games. More often than not, he was the race car among tractors, the thoroughbred among mongrels and an apparent God amongst mortals. He was a champion, the one member of the team that was greater than the sum of its parts.
However, Tendulkar won games in spite of the team he played in; not because of it. For every Sharjah there was the heartbreak of Hyderabad in 2009 or Chennai in 1999; the bittersweet innings that could and should have meant so much more. Virat Kohli may have singlehandedly won two games against Pakistan due to his almost Tendulkar-esque ability to transcend the pitch and match situation, but Cricket is a team game.
India cannot afford to become a one person team. However, based on the admittedly small sample size of recent T20 games, India has been a one person team in high pressure situations.
In two high pressure games against Pakistan, India has been dealt savage blows by the Pakistani pace artillery only for Kohli to step up and take India home; with a little bit of help from Yuvraj Singh. Admittedly, even Batman needed Robin, but even Superheroes fall. When Kohli failed against a motivated New Zealand on a tricky pitch, the rest of the batting crumbled like an old cookie.
Where are the others?
India’s recent T20 success cannot be laid entirely at the feet of Kohli. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni have all made valuable contributions along the way. However, in high-pressure situations, Kohli is the only one who has consistently stood up.
It is not quite on the same level as everybody turning off their television sets when Tendulkar was dismissed in the 1990s, but it is a worrying trend. That is not to say that it will ever reach that level of dependence, but it is still a trend that can and should be nipped in the bud.
India’s recent batting has followed a more or less set formula; when the going is good the runs flow while the moment the pitch is tricky or bowling is exceptional they dry up. With the exception of Kohli it is not so much a case of bat hitting ball as much as it is ball hitting bat.
Even more disheartening has been the fact that with the exception of Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, no batsman seems to put a price on his wicket and attempt to ride out the storm. T20 may be a condensed form of Cricket, but the holy trinity of batting values of putting a price on your wicket, grinding through tough spells and proper shot selection are still the keys to success.
Rightfully favourites
India are rightly the pre-tournament favourites. They have the benefit of playing on pitches tailored to suit their game plan in front of partisan crowds. Furthermore, at least on paper, they have a team that is capable of going the distance. In Ashish Nehra and Jasprit Bumrah they have an incisive new ball pair while Bumrah’s death bowling has also been exceptional.
R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are proven commodities in subcontinental conditions and have both pitches that suit their bowling and a Captain who knows how to get the best out of them. Bizarrely, it is India’s batting that has let them down in high pressure situations.
It must be noted that in the aforementioned games against New Zealand and Pakistan, the batsmen have not had to score at even 7 runs per over. Granted, the conditions were tricky; but they were also subcontinental conditions that the team is used to. India’s batting needs to stand up and be counted when it matters.
Time to take a stand
It is not for the lack of skill; they would not have gotten this far in their international careers if they were not skilful. Virat Kohli may yet carry India to the final off his own bat; but it must be remembered that despite his sublime knock in the 2014 World T20 final, India fell short due to the lack of any other meaningful contributions.
Greatness might on many occasions drag mediocrity across the finish line with it, but mediocrity can often weigh down greatness.
Indian Cricket has endured heartbreak numerous times in the past despite Sachin Tendulkar’s best efforts. Most famously, he scored 673 runs in the 2003 World Cup, it was the single greatest World Cup batting performance; and it has never been topped. But he fell early in the final and India lost.
Indian Cricket is seemingly ready to embrace Virat Kohli as Sachin Tendulkar’s heir; but that does not mean that every single part of his legacy must be handed down. Most pertinently, Kohli, Tendulkar and Indian Cricket will fervently hope that Virat Kohli is not saddled with the pressure and responsibility of carrying a team like Tendulkar was in the 1990s.
The Tendulkar of the 1990s may have been a better batsman, but the Tendulkar of the 2000s won more games. And that was because India was no longer a one batsman team.
India do not need Virat Kohli to be Sachin Tendulkar. However, they do not need Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma to be Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly. India need to start playing as a team. They need their batting to take collective responsibility. And they need to start doing it now.
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