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The void left in the Indian line-up after the retirement of Sunil Gavaskar in 1987 was assumed to stay that way. A player of towering achievements, his replacement was hard to spot. But within a matter of 2 years, a curly haired genius strolled on to the national stadium in Karachi in what was to be the first of his eventual 200 Test appearances.
Sachin Tendulkar, it seemed, was lurking somewhere, waiting for his chance to take the place of the fellow Mumbaikar.
Fast forward to 2012, and it's Sachin who is struggling for form, waiting for someone to take the mantle from him and a certain Virat Kohli grabs it from his mentor and we all know how far he has come with it.
It's amazing how there has never been a dearth of (super?) heroes in this sport. Such is the talent that brims across this country's expanse, that one feels there is always a champion in the making, waiting to take his place in the pantheon of the greats (Prithvi Shaw comes to mind, right?).
Nevertheless, this article focusses its attention on Virat Kohli, the man who has set records ablaze like no other. What makes him the best batsman in the world sheer consistency across formats which is exhibited (albeit to a lesser degree) only by Kane Williamson amongst his peers.
Enough has been said for Kohli's incredible one day record, but his Test exploits have been equally trailblazing off late. Here, we analyze his Test career as it has spanned so far.
Test Career Progression
Virat Kohli made his Test debut vs West Indies at Kingston in 2011. His Test career got off to a slow start, as he took 13 innings to register his first Test century (116 vs Australia, Adelaide). He was amongst the runs from here on until Aug 2014, till when he averaged less than 40.
Perhaps the turning point in his career came during the 2014/15 tour to Australia, where he salvaged some pride in spite of a series loss (2-0); scoring 692 runs including 4 centuries.
The chasm is evident, starting from the tour down under, Kohli has been in terrific form averaging almost 66 in 40 Tests. But what's most evident is his conversion rate from 50s to 100. In the 26 instances of him crossing 50, 17 times (65.4%) he has converted that into a 100. That is almost unheard of.
Amongst the best batsmen of the last 4 years
As mentioned in the previous slide, Kohli has been in Bradmanesque form since Dec 2014, averaging nearly 66 with more than 4000 runs under his belt. But he is placed second when compared with other players in the same time frame.
Steven Smith averages more than 74 in this period, but there is an interesting caveat to this difference.
While Smith looks the best Test batsman by a mile, the difference in his and Kohli's averages is accentuated by the high number of not outs he has as compared to Virat. Smith wasn't dismissed in 16% (12/75) of the innings he played, whereas Kohli wasn't that lucky at 6% (4/67).
Had Kohli been not out in 16% of his innings, his average during this period would have been 73.91 (4139/56). Besides, a simpler mathematics of Runs/Inns makes it clear anyway. Smith scored 62.2 runs per inns during this period (4664/75) whereas Kohli scored 61.8 (4139/67).
(Shortening the time span to start from 2 Oct 2016 onwards, Kohli pips Smith by averaging an eye-popping 78.47)
Amongst the most prolific century makers in Test History
Kohli's insane conversion rate in his purple patch has been mentioned in the previous slides, but is it a stand-alone statistic?
What his great conversion rate has meant that he has been scoring hundreds at a jaw-dropping frequency which stands the test of times when compared with other great players from bygone eras.
From where his current record stands, Kohli has been scoring a hundred on an average once every 5.1 innings (118/23). This ratio is expected to go down once the vicissitudes of form get the better of him, but as of today, he merits comparison with the cream of the crop.
The table makes his position clear, Kohli is only behind Don Bradman and Steve Smith in terms of century scoring frequency. That nobody else has an inns/100 ratio of less than 6 can be attributed to the inevitable dip in form that would have brought the numbers down.
This merits another comparison, what did other players' statistics look like at the same number of hundreds that Kohli has of now.
Kohli sits comfortably at the third spot, bettered only by Steven Smith and Sunil Gavaskar, both of whom raked up 23 centuries at similar rates. Other batsmen have varying rates that are different from the rates that they ended up with largely due to indifferent form.
What Kohli's numbers end up being is anybody's guess but at this time he's doing what he needs to; making mighty good use of a purple patch.
Series Dominator like no other
The most astonishing aspect of Kohli's career in my view is how consistently ruthless he is when it comes to scoring runs in a rubber which is in complete contrast to the batsmen he is so often compared with; Sachin Tendulkar, who never bettered his tally of 493 runs (vs Australia 2007/08) in a series. Quite surprising for a career as long as his.
Kohli meanwhile, is in a very elite list when it comes to batsmen who are prolific throughout a series by scoring more than 600 runs in it. Kohli has done this 3 times as of now (692 vs Australia 2014/15, 655 vs England 2016/17, 610 vs Sri Lanka 2017) and is at par with Neil Harvey (Aus), Gary Sobers (WI) and Brian Lara (WI) who did it three times each in their careers.
To no one's surprise, it is Don Bradman who sits alone at the top with 6 instances of scoring 600 plus runs in a series, followed by the four who have done it thrice. But here's the thing, Kohli has already amassed 440 runs in the ongoing series vs England with two Tests to go. Chances are at that by the end of this series, Kohli will occupy a spot below only the great Don.
Kohli is placed 11th on the ICC Best-Ever Ratings for Batsmen
ICC ratings can give a decent picture of a player's dominance relative to the era he was playing in. Though not foolproof, it is still a good indicative number to look at while gauging a player's virtuoso amongst his peers.
One fine example is Peter May; with a modest test average of 46.77, his name is unlikely to crop up in debates deciding the greats of all time. But he achieved an all-time high ICC rating of 941 (6th best overall), which tells so much about his performances that should be judged in the context of the times/match. (An alternate cricket evaluation system 'Impact Index', does just that).
After his brilliant performance in the recently concluded Trent bridge Test, Kohli reclaimed the top spot in ICC rankings, after briefly conceding it to Steven Smith, with a career-best 937 points. This has placed him 11th on the all-time best-ever list with only a select few names above him.
To nobody's surprise, Bradman is placed at the top followed by Steve Smith and Englishman Len Hutton. Notice that the 2nd and 11th placed batsmen are separated only by 10 points, meaning that a repeat of the Trent Bridge performance in any of the remaining two Tests in the series may catapult Kohli further above this list. In any case, Kohli is easily the highest ranked Indian on this list, followed by Sunil Gavaskar with 916 points.
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