India needs "that man Kohli again"

There’s a certain arrogance about Virat Kohli that some people love and some hate.

India's first wicket has fallen. Their usual lacklustre display with the ball has ensured they are in pursuit of a mammoth target.

Virat Kohli walks in to bat, number 18 on his back, samurai tattoos on his arms, an arrogant smirk on his face. He doesn't care much, not about how the pitch is behaving, not about how good the bowler trying to get him out is.

Looking at him, his mannerisms, his confidence, you wonder what he's made of. At the end of each over, after every boundary, he doesn't merely walk. He swaggers around like he owns the place.

On most days he does. As others around him fall by the wayside, he stands strong. Undefeated. He single-handedly takes India to that mammoth target.

At the end of it, he roars, he mouths expletives. Very rarely, he smiles the most innocent of smiles. The smile which offers us a glimpse into his human self. The other is too supernatural to believe.

The sports headlines the next day read, "It's that man Kohli again". It's not just Kohli again. It's Kohli again and again. And again.

For four years, from the end of the 2011 World Cup till the series against Sri Lanka at home late last year, Virat Kohli carried the Indian ODI batting on his shoulders. No matter what the situation, no matter where the match, no matter what the opposition, Kohli always stood up for India, almost always took them to victory. 16 centuries in 87 innings at an unbelievable average of nearly 58 stands testimony to this fact.

For these four years, there was no chase Kohli couldn't master, no bowler he couldn't annihilate. For these four years, there was an aura around Kohli. There was literally nothing he couldn't do with a bat in hand, representing India in colored clothing.

Kohli’s miserable run in 2015

Kohli’s ODI record in 2015 is far from impressive

Ever since 2015 started though, that aura has started fading away. Those superhuman powers seem to have diminished. Since the start of the year, there's not been one chase that Kohli has mastered, there's not one bowler he has annihilated. That arrogance has disappeared.

Just a solitary century and an average of just 31 from 15 matches is a major drop down from his earlier performances. And it certainly hasn't prompted "that man Kohli again" type of headlines.

To say that Kohli, in form, is an important player for the Indian ODI team will be an understatement. To say that Kohli, in form, is more than half the Indian ODI team will probably be more realistic.

9, 4, 3 not out, 8, 1, 1 and 23 – Kohli's scores in matches India has not won this year. He's scored 49 runs in 7 matches at a lowly average of 8.16.

107, 46, 33, 33 not out, 44 not out, 38, 3 and 25 – Kohli's scores in matches India has won this year. 329 runs in 8 matches at a supremely high average of 54.83.

Fortunately for India, seven out of these innings were played in the World Cup. But of them, only the 107 and 46 came against the top Test nations. That has been the major problem. This is where Kohli's aura has seemingly disappeared – in his lack of runs against the big teams. It must really be hurting that arrogance.

Kohli’s importance to India

This brings us to the question: how reliant is India on Kohli? The answer seems pretty evident. India, ever since the 2011 World Cup, have been completely and overly reliant on Kohli.

Not to say that he's the only match winner India have. He’s not.

There's Shikhar Dhawan, who only scores runs when he's dropped early in his innings.

There's Rohit Sharma, who scores big runs just as the clamour to drop him reaches its peak.

There's Suresh Raina, who spends his time worrying about the short ball and about how much time he would get to spend at the crease.

There's Ajinkya Rahane, who is not even considered good enough for a spot in the playing XI by the captain.

Then there's MS Dhoni, who seems to be nowhere close to the batsman he once was.

And hence, in this team full of players who will win you matches on their day, it's only Kohli that India can rely on to do the job day in, day out. The others will probably never be as prolific, certainly not as consistent.

When we watch plays, or for that matter, movies, we notice that it's all built around that one central character, the one who attracts the audience, the one on whose name the tickets are sold.

The supporting cast is also very important, but not as much as the lead. They may, in a few cases, elicit more praise from the audience. They may even attract more people, but not with as much frequency as the central character.

They can never be as important.

This, in some regards, is what the situation with Kohli and the rest of the Indian team is. Kohli is that central player, around whom the Dhawans, the Rohits, the Rainas play.

India misses Kohli’s swagger

Kohli’s aggression gives India an edge over the opposition

It's Kohli who will win India matches, with the rest playing helping hands. On a few occasions, the supporting cast may win matches on their own, but that won't happen too often.

It's Kohli who will win India matches. It's Kohli who will carry the biggest burden. It's Kohli who will roar the loudest. It is for this purpose that India needs its dethroned king to reclaim his throne. None of the others, barring Dhoni – whose career is on the wane – is a consistent match winner.

None of the others can intimidate the opposition the way Kohli does. None of the others can go about chasing humongous totals the way Kohli does. None of the others can compensate for India's often listless bowling, the way Kohli does. None of the others can have that swagger that Kohli does.

At the fall of India's first wicket, when a 26-year-old from Delhi walks into bat, he carries with him a lot of hopes, a lot of burden. There may be insecurities and fears as well. But that mask of arrogance hides it all, hides his human self. What we see when he goes about his business is, pure and simple, superhuman ability.

In 2015, his human-self has been exposed a lot more than in the preceding years. The superhuman-ness has gone missing. For India to halt their downward spiral in ODIs, that superhuman-ness needs to come back.

It's unlikely to happen without him. It's tough to see India winning too often without the "that man Kohli again" headline. They may win a game or two, but not the way they did in the past four years.

In spite of how much some of us despise it, we really want that arrogance back. In the most extreme form possible. Irrespective of all the knights they have, it's the king that matters the most.

It's Virat Kohli that matters the most. It's his form that matters the most. It's his arrogance that matters the most. The gum-chewing, bat-twirling, sharp-staring, century-making, expletive-mouthing, roar-roaring kind of arrogance.

The Virat Kohli kind of arrogance.