It’s perhaps hard to imagine that Virat Kohli is now known as King Kohli, especially the way he started his international career for India. A lukewarm debut against Sri Lanka in 2008 was followed by the axe and the youngster found himself in the lurch. Years after, he became a superstar and recounted how a journalist told him that he was dropped for the 2009 New Zealand tour.
“There were selections for the New Zealand tour for one-dayers and I had done well in the first series I played. I was driving home and a reporter told me I was not in the squad. I was in total shock. I stopped the car, and I couldn’t believe it,” Kohli told ESPN Cricinfo in an interview in 2011.
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Interestingly, Kohli, who rose to become the India captain and more than an icon at age 33, is yet again going through a rough patch.
It’s like life has come to a full circle for the former India captain who is all set to play his hundredth T20I match amidst growing scrutiny of his poor form. And that’s why it becomes even more important to celebrate Kohli the T20 player who made his shorter format debut against Zimbabwe on 12 June 2010.
Nonetheless, his finest hour wouldn’t arrive before the 2014 T20 World Cup where he came of age. His chest-thumping gesture moments after guiding India home against South Africa captured his imagination. Indian fans suddenly had a new hero.
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Kohli was never in your face T20 batter and his first impression made him a darling of puritans. Straight shots in the ‘V’ was his mantra to set up his innings as he completed one year in the T20 circuit. To be very frank, there was nothing brash about Kohli—the bad boy of Indian cricket. His first T20I fifty came against Sri Lanka in Pallekele where he scored 68 off 48 balls with a strike rate of 141.
2012 saw two more fifties-one against Afghanistan (50 off 39) and the other against Pakistan (78 off 61), and his strike rate had dipped even further.
Meanwhile, India played just one T20I in 2013 (hard to imagine now), but Kohli’s time was about to arrive. Came 2014 T20 World Cup and King Kohli’s journey began with a bang. By the time tournament ended, he was the top run-getter with 319 runs. He was turning out to be a good T20 player, but not an effective T20 player. Master of timing, but not a brute.
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But as 2016 arrived, that image started to change. As India travelled to Australia, the then 27-year-old was evolving rapidly with his age. The three-match T20I series saw him register scores of 90, 59, and 50. Moreover, the strike rate took a big hike—it was now above 160. A strike rate is just a number for any other player, but for Kohli, it told a story.
A story of a player reaching his peak. Through his bat, he was telling the world-‘listen, you can play shots in the V and still score runs.’ Most importantly, he answered the critics in the media who had questioned his effectiveness as a T20 batter as he was being accused of eating up too many balls. Kohli now had a new mantra—pierce the gap, convert singles into twos and then put the foot on the gas in the fag end of the innings. And boy, didn’t he put that ploy to good use? Smashing 4 centuries in IPL that same year—a record which was equalled by Jos Buttler in 2022.
In fact, 2016 was the year when Kohli was accepted by a wider set of audience as ‘King Kohli.’ He was no longer the next big thing in Indian cricket, Kohli era was well and truly upon us. 1641 runs in a whole calendar year was enough to pursue the selectors that they have a white ball legend in the making. No surprises, that he was named India’s next white ball captain after MS Dhoni.
Meanwhile Kohli the run machine continued unabated. 2017 and 2018 saw him score 299 and 211 runs, respectively. 2019 was even better where he scored 466 runs in ten T20Is. Captaincy and run-scoring didn’t go hand in hand some said, well for Kohli, it was the exact opposite.
Nonetheless, as 2020 arrived Kohli’s peak as a T20 player was just beginning to end. His run tally had fallen down to 295 and his calendar year avg was 36! 2021 saw him trying different things. For instance, experimenting with the opener’s slot was something he thought about, nevertheless, he backed out except in one match against England where he scored a fifty.
With the likes of Rishabh Pant lower down the order, Kohli could have made the most of the extra balls at his disposal.
Fast forward to August 2022 when he arrived at the Asia Cup on the back of horrendous form, opening the innings wouldn’t be a bad idea for the 33-year-old. With 81 runs in 4 games, he would look to fetch easy boundaries in the powerplay. More balls equal more time and greater comfort for someone like him who can time the ball with so much ease. Nonetheless, with the presence of KL Rahul in the side, Kohli might ditch that proposition yet again.
Furthermore, let’s not forget that Kohli has shown a glimpse of his aggressive self in the last two T20Is against England. The scores looked average, but the intent wasn’t. Kohli the batter was looking to attack right from the get-go, hence the cheap dismissals.
As he gets ready to play his hundredth T20I, the question is which Kohli will turn up? The ultra-aggressive brand new Kohli or the one who would take his time, run the twos hard and go for the kill in the end.
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