WHY VIRAT KOHLI ISN’T AS GREAT AS MADE TO SOUND!

5th November , 1988. The day on which an Indian sensation was born. He made batting look so elegant and graceful! People began calling him the next Sachin Tendulkar and many believe he’s that good even now. From his classy cover drive to the almost perfect on drive , from a dismissive pull shot to an absolutely clean straight drive , Virat Kohli has made the cricket pitch his canvas and continues to paint his beautiful strokes and break records on it. Considered one of the greatest batsman of his generation , he started his career in Delhi. He gradually gained interest and experience and was rewarded in 2008 when he was announced as the captain of the India U-19 side where he led the team to the trophy successfully. But in my opinion , Kohli still has a few chinks in his armor. Despite being a proven match winner and the recipient of various laurels such as the Padma Shri and the Khel Ratna award , I strongly feel Virat on the whole isn’t the legend that he is thought to be by thousands of people. Let’s break it down…

1. INABILITY TO LEAD EFFICIENTLY: Though a fantastic player , Kohli as a captain is highly average despite producing results. It is clearly evident that MS Dhoni is still the main think tank on field and VK himself has admitted that it is the guidance of MS that carries the team. Although he gets the results , more often than not he is seen fielding in the deep instead of conducting play from the inner circle and shepherding his boys around. He seems to be all over the place in the course of an innings , as is seen in the IPL and international fixtures.
2. ATTITUDE AND CHARACTER: As seen on the field (and even off the field at times) , Virat probably has one of the most over-dramatic celebrations with unnecessary verbal attacks and a cringe-worthy personality on the whole. He lacks the persona and mentality that at least I desire in a true sportsperson. I do admire the aggression and passion he has for the game and his will to succeed , but do not appreciate the extent to which he goes. The most recent yet vivid memory of this that enters my mind was when he gave Ravichandran Ashwin an aggressive but uncharacteristically rude send off after taking his catch in the 2019 IPL.
3. LACK OF PATIENCE AND CONSISTENCY: Whether it is the management or the players , the Indian skipper has never been patient enough to back them for long enough to do the job efficiently. It is as though he expects instant results without finding the need to give them time and more matches to adapt and succeed , something that we saw so often during Dhoni’s period. Erratic team selection , lack of confidence building ability and a tendency to be slightly too conservative and within the box in the thought process has brought about the team’s downfall on whatever few occasions such as the Champions Trophy 2017 , Tour of England 2018 , Australia Series 2019 and a couple of other bilateral series. Even in his batting , he is proven to be weak and a tad inefficient against the ball that leaves him on 5th or 6th stump line , especially earlier on in 2012–2015.

This is why I believe that Virat Kohli , though an undoubted talent and an asset to the team , isn’t as good as made to look at times. According to me he will never be as valuable as a Sachin Tendulkar or an MS Dhoni overall. Also , I would personally prefer someone like Rohit Sharma to be the captain of the national side due to a superior attitude and ability to handle the side and adapt to challenging situations , thus also ensuring reduced workload for Kohli so that he can focus on what he does best and continue doing wonders for India!