Virat The Legend, Cheeku The Superstar

He is recognised for his growing maturity, and, more importantly, for his superb skills with bat in hand. Even in the presence, or absence, of his other prolific partners, Virat Kohli has become one of the most dependable batsmen in the Indian middle order today

Virat Kohli is a special player, for special occasions. Whenever the pressure is on, he keeps it ice cool and excels. He is a batting sensation surely. To have talent is one thing. To have the ability to harness that talent is another. The combination is rare. But to have both, and convert the latter into former, while still keeping the art of the former intact is surreal. Virat Kohli has mastered the art of One-Day batting to the extent that the same template keeps playing on loop and hundreds are churned out wherever he goes.

When you look closely at his numbers in ODIs, you got to believe that he is perhaps the best in business at the moment and someone destined to finish high up. Kohli has equalled Brian Lara in the number of ODI tons (19) and has taken a little more than one-third the number of games. He has essayed his role in the ODI side to perfection, in fact, he was second in the list of fastest to 4,000 ODI runs and is now the joint-fastest with West Indian great Viv Richards to 5,000 ODI runs (114 innings).

In run chases, Kohli has slammed 13 centuries (out of 19) and 12 of these have resulted in victories for India. These numbers are only second best to Sachin Tendulkar, who has scored 17 tons in run chases, of which India have won 14. Few of his knocks will be remembered for years. His 133 off 86 deliveries against Sri Lanka at Hobart in 2012 where India needed to chase down 320 inside 40 overs was sensational. Century off 52 balls against Australia when the target was 360 is also a record for the fastest Indian century and if those two knocks were not enough, Kohli proved his mettle once again with another sparkling ton (115 off 66) in the same series against Australia where India again needed to chase down 350 and did it successfully.

Not just in ODI’s his efforts in international T20s since the last edition of the ICC World T20 have been simply outstanding. He has been averaging 52.28 since December 2012 and has posted just one score of below 20 since then. Despite India not playing a vast amount of T20 internationals, Kohli does play regularly in the IPL, something which has clearly helped him refine his craft.

His passion and dedication to his craft and his love for his country is a rare find in modern-day cricketers. With so much to play for at global tournaments, he still passionately bleeds for Indian blue and seems to be pumped up no matter what the occasion is. His confidence is often confused for arrogance and even if that were true, with his wealth of talent, he’s allowed a little bit of an arrogant streak.

His ability to weigh the situation well, maintain confidence and positive intent from start to finish irrespective of situations places him miles ahead of some of his teammates. Add to this what former Indian Captain Kapil Dev feels that he could break Sachin’s records. Kohli is a naturally aggressive & bold player which goes well with his personality. On a lighter note tatoos are working for Kohli for sure.

HOT PROPERTY

Cricket is a religion in India, cricketers are demigods and fans literally worship them. But, some of them become real hot among opposite sex. The new star in Indian line-up ‘Cheeku’ (Virat Kohli) finds himself in that list already. His romantic tie-up with actress Anuska Sharma is a current affair these days. But, it’s not the first time that he is dating an actress or a model. Izabelle Leite a Brazilian model and actress who made her bollywood debut with ‘Sixteen’ revealed her past relationship with Kohli recently. The list does not end here. During T-20 World Cup final England women cricketer Danielle Wyatt tweeted: “Kholi marry me.” When someone replied to her tweet, saying: “He is booked to bollywood actress “Anushka Sharma” the English cricketer replied, “Nah he ain’t!” Tamanna is also no exception. Virat and she started to date in 2012. However, this relationship also ended.

His popularity does not limit here, he is India’s Youth Icon and will soon be appointed as the new brand ambassador of the country’s second largest paramilitary force BSF. Kohli has been roped in by the Border Security Force (BSF) in order to bolster the appeal of the 2.5-lakh personnel strong force which is primarily tasked to guard two crucial Indian borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

By Sorabh Aggarwal