Kohli on the path to being called a batting great
The recent record-shattering performances of Virat Kohli and R Ashwin sparked a conversation on their stature, impact on the game and place in cricket history. Considering Kohli’s four double hundreds and Ashwin’s sprint to 250 Test wickets, the question is are these two players good, great, legends or modern masters? One interesting answer is Kohli is the Bradman of batting and Ashwin is the Bradman of bowling.
Bradman, of course, is the gold standard of measuring cricket performances; he is the undisputed all-time Don. Any comparison (let alone parity) with him is an ultimate compliment because Bradman outscored everyone by some distance. The norm is to assess cricketers by their numbers, and a successful professional once famously said there are only two truths that matter --the cheque book and score book. Numbers don’t lie and stats are supreme.
OPINION CHANGING
While there is no denying the importance of numbers, opinion is rapidly growing that cold statistics don’t tell the full story. Runs are runs and wickets are wickets but all runs/wickets are not equal. A hit through cover that fetches four and an edged drive that crosses the rope at third man are hugely different.
A better method to determine greatness and compare players from different generations is to put cold numbers in ‘context’ by applying filters such as playing conditions, pressure and the overall match situation. Studies using these yardsticks give perspective and some results of this analysis are startling.
None more than the finding in a book released recently that Sachin Tendulkar’s ‘impact’ is not as significant as commonly believed. His feats (200 Tests, 100 international hundreds) will perhaps never be surpassed but seen in ‘context’, his contribution was only a ‘support act’.
Once all runs are scrutinised, it is Rahul Dravid who emerges as India’s most impactful player, and in overall ratings Pakistan’s Younis Khan and Inzamam-ul-Haq are right on top, as is Brian Lara. Among current players, AB de Villiers is outstanding across formats.
Measuring greatness will always remain tricky whether done through conventional number crunching or by applying scientific rigour to available data. But there is another rating system which is accurate and invariably spot on. This is the informal dressing room buzz where players know the exact worth of each other and reputations are made and shredded periodically.
In this, Viv Richards is the king, but a whisper is already doing the rounds --- Kohli is almost there!