Kohli’s struggles show reputations don’t matter
It took almost two months for Virat Kohli to break into a smile this IPL season. For the most part he had trod a forlorn harrowing path, short on runs, problems in plenty, going from one failure to the next, thrice falling for golden ducks, hardly looking the batsman who would wield the bat like King Arthur’s Excalibur and strut over the cricket world like he owned it.
Then, in RCB’S last league match with prospects of their reaching the play-offs on a knife’s edge, he made 73 to help his team beat table-toppers Gujarat Titans. Kohli’s celebration on reaching the half-century mark was melodramatic. Edmund Hillary or Tenzing Norgay would scarcely have looked as emotionally charged or relieved after scaling Mount Everest.
But then Kohli’s struggle to emerge from the doldrums had been of Himalayan proportions too!
The two months of this IPL come at the tail-end of a twoyear barren period in which his runs have dried up like a stream in a torrid Saharan summer. So much so that questions began to be asked whether he deserved to be in India’s T20 team.
This was ominous for such an argument could swiftly move on to other formats too if he kept failing. Runs at this point in time were crucial.
It was clearly not the best knock Kohli’s played (don’t forget he has 70 international centuries and some in the IPL too), but it was riveting nevertheless.
There were moments of precariousness and a few lucky breaks. But there were also several superlative strokes that bore the stamp of ‘master class’. More pertinent was the strong show of character. For too long, Kohli had worn the demeanour of a condemned man: shoulders sagging, eyes without sparkle, body language uncertain. In this innings, some of the old chutzpah was back.
Has he turned the corner? Kohli’s strong suit was not just scoring runs, but making
Team GT(Q) RR(Q) LSG(Q) RCB DC KKR PBKS SRH CSK
MI
Pld
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Lost
Net RR match-winning impact. That awaits ratification. Opponents will prey on lingering insecurities if any. But he has a foothold to revive what had been, till not too long back, a dazzling career.
Kohli’s slump in the IPL became more conspicuous and newsworthy because of the surreal length of his lean trot— which stretches back to 2019— as well as his mighty stature in the sport. But what’s intriguing is that he is not the only bigticket player to have hit a prolonged period of sub-par performances in the league this season.
Rohit Sharma and Kane Williamson have been sailing in the same boat. That three of the finest contemporary batsmen should all fail so consistently for so long (they have matching stats too!) is unusual. Add to this trio, Aaron Finch, Mathew Wade and Pat Cummins, three major influencers in Australia’s T20 World Cup win last season.
Then there’s Ravindra Jadeja and Kieron Pollard, consistent performers for over a decade, who couldn’t put a foot right this year. Going a notch lower in star billing, Mayank Agarwal
Pts 20 18 18 16 14 12 12 12 8 6 and Mohammed Siraj have had eminently forgettable performances. There are others too.
None of these are in the ‘brain fried’—to use a Ravi Shastri euphemism—category like Kohli whose is a unique case, and deserving a study of its own. However, so many major players—who were doing so well till very recently—failing so badly in a tournament threw up queries. Is there some trend or transformation emerging?
On the face of it, this could be because of several things that usually happen in any sport. Players suffer temporary loss of form/confidence. Advancing years slow down reflexes, affect eyesight. Boredom, fatigue, burnout are not uncommon. And of course, in pandemic times, there is the impact of living in ‘bio-bubbles’ that has taken a heavy toll across disciplines.
Singly or in multiples, these can be reasons for players failing. But given the number and quality of those who’ve flopped this year, there are two other factors which I think are playing a role, and will do so increasingly in the future in the T20 format.
One is availability of data. This has become so profuse that every aspect about players—in terms of technique and temperament and everything associated with these—is now mapped. Game plans and tactics are developed for teams as well as individuals. The success or otherwise of this process depends on the efficiency of data crunching and execution of strategies in the middle. This is not to undermine ‘captaincy instinct’ or players’ intelligence to improvise during a match. But data can offer leads and fill in gaps.
The other factor has to do with game psychology. More and more players, particularly younger ones, are becoming utterly fearless. The deference and awe with which a Virat, Rohit, Bumrah, Cummins would be treated earlier is dissipating rapidly. For reasons of livelihood, fame, success et al, even juniors and youngsters are now taking the field as equals. In they seem keener to ‘take on’ reputed players as this can help fast-track their own careers.
The signal I read is that those who are conscious of reputation and play to protect rather than see the challenges and take them head on are in deep peril.