The focused and determined Virat Kohli with the bat turns into an excited and animated leader when his team are in the field. But is it helping India?
With the knowledge that India ideally wanted a score above 300 to avoid a fourth-innings chase that wasn’t out of reach, a determined and focused Virat Kohli went about building an innings of high substance.
His attitude is, “This is how it’s done, boys. Follow me”. It’s straight out of the Allan Border or Stephen Waugh captaincy manual when batting.
At times it looked as though Australia was bowling at a brick wall, such was the surety of Kohli’s defending. His driving was crisp – it was the stuff the textbook writers would have loved. It was a high-quality knock on a pitch that wasn’t a minefield but wasn’t easy either.
But once the pads come off and the Virat Kohli, the fielding captain, took to the field a completely different character came out.
Now he’s Virat Kohli the emotional leader of ten men and a billion people. It’s now Virat Kohli, the excitable, emotional and demanding skipper. But is it helping his team?
Gone is the calm steel that he possesses with bat in hand, replaced by an occasionally over-the-top dramatic captain who is just missing the subtleties that comes with having a ‘C’ next to his name.
Each wicket comes with a huge Virat celebration. Whereas you will have his supporters say that it means that much to him, there is just a calmness that comes with building up to a complete plan that is missing.
When India took the ninth wicket in Adelaide, it was met with a frustrated Kohli throwing the ball aggressively into the ground. It just looked like a captain that hasn’t got the full control of where his emotions are and without a full grasp on what is best for the team.
The captain does need to lead, but being the most animated is usually best for the guy with the big moustache and belly – and, let’s face it, Merv Hughes was 11th in line to ever be captain.
The skipper just needs to be quietly in control of the ship, not screaming from the bridge telling everyone how excited he is to see the boat heading in the right direction.
Virat the fielding captain could possibly sit back and think how Virat the batsman goes about his work.
There is nothing wrong with being excited, but there also appears to be a steeliness that is just missing at the moment as a fielding captain.
Extra Short Leg
Roar Rookie
So Anon, what does Virat look like when he loses it? If what we've seen is Kohli completely in control, it must be quite a show when he does his block.
Extra Short Leg
Roar Rookie
Kohli is a long way short of being the perfect captain. His petulant carry on when things don't go his way is far removed from the calm demeanor required of a leader. I dare say it hardly instils confidence in his team.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
A good cricket captain is about selections, tactics, field placings. I wouldn't rate Kohli great in any of the those more. in terms of training hard, making sure everyone practices,leading by example, fitness is next I would rate Kohli strong in that. Whether they are reserved over the top etc is not a factor.
IAP
Guest
There's a bit of Serena about Kohli; everything's hunky dory when he's winning, but as soon as things turn sour he turns into a petulant brat. My only problem with this is the rank hypocrisy from the Australian media - we get Kohli-cam and get to watch his every move every time anything happens, but his behaviour is never questioned, yet the Australian players are put through the ringer. It's not Kohli that I don't like, it's the Australian media that I don't like. By the way, I agree with the premise of the article; Kohli lets his emotions take over far too much to be a good captain. Some of his decision making has been very questionable too.
tbag
Guest
Oh please. No one wants cricketers to turn into automatons devoid of any emotion. Where's the fun in that? Kohli is great for cricket just the way he is (and he's giving you something to write about).
Mon
Guest
^ Pretend cricket fan. Currently watching his first ever test match and seeing Kohli in all whites is just too much.
Mon
Guest
Ummm... you are the precious snowflake. Getting your knickers in a knot over what Australia said in the past on the field because of course NO OTHER nation was employing the same tactics.. go ahead and praise Kohli. Such a hypocrite.
anon
Roar Pro
He wasn't out in the first innings. He was right to feel aggrieved. The Aussies claimed a catch that had touched the grass. He's very good at getting under the skin of those who are mentally weak.
Kopa Shamsu
Guest
Kohli isn't ch-eat , he is the biggest che-at & fix-er of all time.
Kopa Shamsu
Guest
That's funny. I think vice versa was also true. The time you were talking about ( ganguly era) Aussies didn't give an a*s* to what foreign captain thinks. This time around, anyone say anything & media is showing them how to be elite honest!
Kopa Shamsu
Guest
Kohli isn't a cheat unlike Smith. He is representative of a country where you can play international cricket after match fixing. I don't think a country with long history with tampering, fixing,corrupting the game has even the slightest right to call other cheat, specially when you are calling one cheat who didn't. Simply jumping into the bandwagon of others & hoping others won't see is bad idea. Kohli isn't a cheat, he is a fixer.
JamesH
Roar Guru
He was in complete control of his emotions when he spat the dummy after being given out, was he? Or when he sat in front of the media last year and laughably accused Australia of systematically manipulating DRS, despite the fact that no one could find any footage to support his bizarre allegations? Kohli is in complete control when he is batting (which the author pointed out) but he lives on the edge outside of that. It's a product of life in a bubble where he can say and do whatever he wants and a Billion people lap it up. There are no checks and balances in place when it comes to the King because he runs the show. Not being as bad a someone who cheated doesn't suddenly make him good. Imagine having the gall to gesture that your bat does the talking and then turn around and mouth off to your opponents. The outcry if an Australian carried on like he does in the field would be deafening. The Aussie would be a 'bully' or a 'boofhead'. Kohli is just 'passionate'. There is zero similarity between the way Kohli conducts himself on the field and the way Viv or Curtly got into their opponents. Kohli's carry on is more akin to that of David Warner. And if that's what he wants to do then good for him. But let's not pretend he is some kind of mastermind for doing what Matt Hayden and Shane Warne did for year before him.
Spanner
Roar Rookie
Given the team and situation he has been handed, Paine is proving to be better than the 3 of them !
Targa
Guest
He's a pretty good captain - probably the 3rd best in the world behind Williamson and Faf.
Aditya
Guest
The steely type of personality might work for Australians. It doesn't work for Indians, we can be a bit passive at times and need someone who is charging our players up on the field. Ganguly is the best captain we had for the same reason. He was aggressive and he didn't give a rats a**e what foreign media (especially Australian) thought of him. Dhoni was a good captain but he could be too passive at times -- that's why we struggled under him when we went overseas.
anon
Roar Pro
Kohli has COMPLETE control of his emotions. He's the only guy out there in control. He can score a swashbuckling 100 off 60 in T20 or 40 off 150 in Test cricket. The Australian team showed today they can't control their emotions, swatting their bats like it was a T20 game. Kohli is about complete mastery and control of his emotions. What he's trying to do (and successfully) is get under the skins of our PRECIOUS Aussie snowflakes. He's identified a mental weakness in the psyche of this side and is exploiting it. I'm just trying to imagine Aussies 25 years ago complaining because Curtley Ambrose said something mean or Viv Richards glared at them. This absolutely pathetic -- even more so after Australia have spent several decades giving a gobful to opposition at every opportunity. Kohli is NOT a cheat unlike Steve Smith. That's the main thing to remember. He can say what he likes on the field and he'll never be as bad as Steve Smith.