Why Virat Kohli is an inspiration to all Indians
It will not be an understatement to call Virat Kohli a phenomenon. As India ascends to its rightful position in the global order, Virat Kohli typifies the journey of our nation — a relentless pursuit to attain its optimal potential.
Looking at him on the field, irrespective of the format, there is hardly a moment when one finds him not involved.
If I was allowed to borrow one quality from any person in the world today, it would invariably be the "Zen zone" that Virat gets into while in the game.
After the retirement of Rahul Dravid, in the piece written by his wife Vijeta Dravid, she talks about the hours of meditation it took Rahul Dravid to reach that Zen zone.
It seems Virat has mastered the art of switching that mode on every time he gets on the ground.
And like India, Virat's best, more often than not, tends to come against Pakistan.
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| A man with four consecutive double centuries in as many series, is not just giving a show of his class or consistency, but is making a statement of intent to leave his indomitable legacy in the annals of the game. Photo: PTI |
At Eden Gardens last year, Virat seemed to be playing at a different track. In Mohali against Australia, it felt like he was in a conversation with God, both within and outside.
On a crumbling pitch against England at Wankhede late last year, what happened was best described by cricket journalist, Siddharth Monga: "Kohli is just an obsessed man."
Kohli not just raises the bar so high with his dogged pursuit for greatness, but also rubs that off on his teammates with his innate leadership skills.
But I write this today, because of something that I observed which has happened twice in a span of less than two weeks.
Of course, every great player and by extension, a great performer in every sphere, reaches an inflection point.
People often talk about the law of averages in sports. But this is about none of them.
This is about something that comes in your way when everything seems to be going just like the way you wanted it to.
And then suddenly things start to fall apart. Of course, there is no reason to believe that there is something that is going wrong with the Indian team or its captain.
In a span of less than two weeks, the only way things can possibly undergo such sudden metamorphosis is at the mental level.
More than his exceptional cricketing skills, his ability to learn from his mistakes and his self-control have been the reasons why Virat has been able to exponentially raise the bar of his greatness in the last 24 months.
Rather than allowing the opposition to be gratified about his fabled weakness outside the off stump, he has mastered the art of milking boundaries on what is offered in that zone.
In many ways, Novak Djokovic and Virat Kohli are a microcosm of the modern-day sports culture — a delightful platter of mental and physical strength, combined with passion, discipline and dedication, peppered with technological and strategic assistance.
But at a mental level, there still needs feeding of a constant reaffirmation of self-belief.
I am no motivational guru, neither am I a cricketing expert trying to teach the greatest current Indian cricketer a thing or two about the game he's mastered in his own way.
This is just my conversation with the man who's helped me go through some of the worst times in my life, just by inspiring me with the kind of willpower and dedication, he has displayed in his career.
In its fight against Virat's favourite opponents, we have levelled the series now. We have a chance to come back like we did against them, in 2001 in India.
And we also stand a chance, to let this chance go like we did against them, in 2004 in Australia.
Just like Roger Federer, who played the shot and not the player in the finals of the Australian Open, nothing works more effectively than keeping things simple.
It was against this very team, that Sachin Tendulkar hit the magical double innings, sans a cover drive in Sydney 13 years ago. May be the elimination of a chink in his armour of leaving a delivery necessitates such audacious treatment from the great man too.
A man with four consecutive double centuries in as many series, is not just giving a show of his class or consistency, but is making a statement of intent to leave his indomitable legacy in the annals of the game.
A mere mental blockade cannot prevent such greatness from reaching its culmination. Quoting Shri Krishna from Bhagwad Gita as referred to in Virat's own recommendation, Paramhansa Yogananda's The Autobiography of a Yogi: "be thou disciple Arjuna, a Yogi."
After the 2008 U-19 World Cup victory, the team captain Virat's mother, Saroj Kohli, in an interview said: "Now, he looked like he was chasing his father's dream which was his own too."
For me and millions of other countless Indians, Virat Kohli's pursuit for excellence is the driving force in our quest to achieve our dreams. Virat — keep believing, keep inspiring.