https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/virat-kohli-has-been-indian-cricket-s-most-influential-figure-1485596


Virat Kohli has been Indian cricket's most influential figure

He became the blueprint for every Indian cricketer, and changed not just results but mindsets


Virat Kohli's retirement from Test cricket marks the end of a thunderous
era - a reign forged in grit, fire, and audacity. It closes the chapter
on the most transformative figure in Indian cricket since Sachin
Tendulkar; perhaps Kohli even eclipses him in terms of cultural
influence and psychological impact on India's cricketing identity.

Kohli, the incandescent heart of Indian cricket for over a decade, did
not just score runs. He redefined expectations, challenged conventions,
and symbolised the self-assured, unapologetic India of the 21st century.
His departure leaves not only a statistical void but a seismic shift in
energy - for there has never been another quite like him.

There was a time when Indian cricket, particularly overseas, bore an air
of respectful submission - playing with technical skill, yes, but often
with psychological inferiority. That changed in stages. Sourav Ganguly
gave Indian cricket a new spine. MS Dhoni brought ice-cold leadership
and white-ball dominance. But Kohli? Kohli lit the fire. He tore the
script and authored a new one, where India was not just competitive
abroad but expected to win.

He was the most Australian non-Australian cricketer we've ever seen - a snarling warrior in whites, never giving an inch, always demanding more.
Not just of his bowlers, his fielders or his opposition, but first and foremost, of himself.

The two Test series that define Kohli's legacy - and indeed his
character - came in England and Australia, the most traditional arenas
of cricketing greatness.

In 2014, England exposed a glaring vulnerability. Anderson haunted him
with late swing, and Kohli's technique and mindset unravelled. But
failure for Kohli was fertiliser. He didn't complain. He rebuilt. He
sought out his Under-19 coach Lalchand Rajput and worked obsessively to eliminate technical flaws. Tendulkar too lent advice. What emerged four
years later was not just a better batter - it was a better man.

His return to England in 2018 was the stuff of redemption mythology. In
the opening Test, at Edgbaston, Kohli produced a sublime 149 - forged in defiance, patience, and mastery over conditions that once crippled him.
The second-innings fifty was no less valuable. Across five Tests, he
amassed 593 runs at 59.30, the leading run-scorer by a long stretch. The ghosts were not only exorcised, they were humiliated.

If England was redemption, Australia in 2018-19 was a coronation. India
had never won a Test series in Australia. Kohli, now captain, led a team
that believed it could - and did. Though Cheteshwar Pujara was the hero statistically, Kohli's 123 in Perth on a devilish pitch was an innings
for the ages. It was Test cricket in its rawest form - discipline,
fight, elegance, and grit. India won 2-1, and in doing so, buried
decades of inferiority.

No Indian captain had ever marshalled a team to such commanding overseas dominance. And no batter since Tendulkar had so unequivocally ruled in
every continent.

He trained not just his body but his imagination. Where others
reacted, Kohli anticipated. He saw innings before they unfolded. He
lived the pressure before it arrived

Kohli's greatest innings have been more than runs - they have been
statements. His 141 in Adelaide in 2014, in his first Test as captain,
chasing a monumental fourth-innings target, was an early blueprint. The
153 in Centurion (2018), the 200 in the West Indies in 2016, and the
exquisite 254 not out at home against South Africa three years later,
all told different stories of his abilities.

He was a "feel" player, relying on immaculate timing rather than brute strength. Heavy bats didn't interest him. Instead, he brought a
two-handed, almost tennis-like aggression to slower pitches, making straight-batted drives look like power strokes from another dimension.
He rarely needed innovation - no scoops or reverse sweeps. His genius
lay in classical orthodoxy applied with gladiatorial will.

Kohli's mental preparation was legendary. After every setback, whether personal or professional, he went away and returned harder, leaner, more complete. His father's death during a Ranji match in 2006 remains a
defining moment. He didn't withdraw. He batted and scored 90 in a back-to-the-wall innings - because that's what his father would have wanted.

He spoke candidly in later years about visualising hostile conditions,
hostile crowds and hostile spells before every overseas tour. He trained
not just his body but his imagination. That is Kohli's true superpower.
Where others reacted, Kohli anticipated. He saw innings before they
unfolded. He lived the pressure before it arrived.

And in the cauldron of global scrutiny, with a billion people watching
his every move, Kohli taught himself to breathe. As he once said: "If I
focus on all that, I can't breathe. I have to focus on what I can do."

Kohli burst onto the scene as a brash, chest-thumping U-19 World
Cup-winning captain in 2008. Some wondered whether the strut outpaced
the substance.

He made mistakes, no doubt. But when the wake-up call came -
particularly after a dip in discipline and lifestyle early in his career
- he turned brutally honest with himself. He revamped everything: diet, training, mindset. In doing so, Kohli became the blueprint for the
modern Indian cricketer - relentlessly professional, obsessively fit,
and mentally ironclad.

His evolution mirrored that of India itself - no longer content to play
the supporting act. Confident, global, yet deeply connected to its
roots. His global stardom ran parallel to the rise of the IPL, yet he
never let the glitz distract from his Test ambitions. He made white-ball cricket his domain without sacrificing a drop of red-ball purity.

Yes, Tendulkar was a genius. Yes, Dhoni was a master tactician and an
ice-cold finisher. But in the grand reckoning of Indian cricket history,
Kohli has been its most influential figure.

Why? Because he changed not just results but mindsets.

He demanded excellence. He made fast bowling India's weapon. He brought
the yo-yo test into the cultural lexicon. He backed his bowlers, he
stood up to bullies, and he never played for second place. He wanted
Test cricket to thrive and knew that for India to be respected, they
needed to dominate the hardest format.

His public defence of Steve Smith during the 2019 World Cup, when he
urged Indian fans to stop booing, was a statesman's act. The hot-headed
kid had become cricket's conscience.

As Kohli exits the Test arena, he leaves behind not just a glittering
record - over 9000 runs, 30 centuries, historic wins overseas - but a blueprint for how to play the game with heart, with hunger, and with unyielding pride.

He was polarising, yes. But so is every revolutionary.

He walked with a swagger, often spoke too loudly, always played too
hard. And in doing so, he became the icon of an India no longer content
to play supporting roles. He was a beacon to Indians everywhere, a
cricketing colossus from the subcontinent striding across Lord's,
Adelaide, Centurion and Kolkata with the same fearless heartbeat.

In every sense of the word, King Kohli reigned - and his influence will
be felt long after the roar has faded.

All hail the King. And thank you, Virat, for making us believe that
domination and dignity could walk together.



--- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: Eweka Internet Services (3:633/280.2@fidonet)