The Man with a Willow: Virat Kohli

It has been 5 years since The Little Master Sachin Tendulkar retired from all formats of cricket but still you hear his chants ring around the stadium. People still remember The Master Blaster and his achievements. Touted by many as the next Tendulkar, Kohli once carried Tendulkar on his shoulder around the Wankhede Stadium after India beat Sri Lanka in the World Cup finals. He then took over the legend’s duty to carry India on his shoulders, and ever since, Kohli is a massive presence in this Indian Cricket team.

Virat Kohli came into the limelight after he became only the second captain to lift the Under-19 world cup in 2008. He made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka the same year, but things didn’t start well for the young lad. Mark Waugh was a fantastic domestic cricketer, but he once said how the pressure of playing international cricket got to his head. The pressure of playing at the world stage is not easy to handle. After some good performances in the IPL 2008, Kohli was called back into the Indian team. Since then he’s a consistent contributor in the star-studded team.

Since Tendulkar’s retirement, all Indian eyes were focused on the Delhi man. The expectations on him started to grow every single day. It’s not easy to fill in the boots of a legend. Any other youngster would have stumbled but not Virat. His aggressiveness and passion for the game made him one of the best in the world cricket. Fans started to believe in him and he never failed to repay the faith bestowed on him.

It took almost 3 years for Virat to get his first call up in Test Cricket. Averaging just over 39 in his first 29 matches, Kohli was often criticized for his technique in overseas conditions. After a dismal show in England during the 2014 Test series he made adjustments to his technique (liking taking guard a yard outside his crease) on the advice of India coach Ravi Shastri and scored four centuries, including twin hundreds in Adelaide. He finished the series Down Under in 2014/15 as the second-highest scorer behind Steven Smith.

Once a chubby and casual guy, Kohli started to realize his potential and his importance in this Indian cricket team. He started to become a more dependable batsmen and won millions of Indian hearts. He shed his weight and became not just fit but a major driving force in the Indian dressing room after he took over the Test captaincy in December 2014. Under his leadership India started to perform well in Test and ODI series home and away.

He is widely regarded as the best chaser in ODI format due to his tenacity and calmness during run chases.

Setting various records has become Kohli’s trend now. As a captain, he was the first man to score 1000+ runs in 3 consecutive years and quickest to score 20 tons in all formats. He owns the record for fastest 5000 ODI runs and most centuries during run chases. With many records already broken, Kohli sets his target to break more of The Master Blaster’s records and take over the crown from him as the best Indian cricketer ever.

Will Kohli break the Master Blaster’s records? If yes which record do you think he will break? Let us know in our comments section below.