Virat Kohli is HUMAN after all, let us allow him to be one

No.71. If you are a follower of Indian cricket, then you will surely not need much explanation regarding the person associated with this number and why this particular number has received so much attention in cricketing circles. In every match that India has played over the last couple of years, apart from the discussions around the performance of the team, there is that whisper about No.71 that is growing louder with every passing match. When will Virat Kohli score THAT 71st ton?

Kohli produced a masterclass with the willow in the first innings of the 3rd Test match against South Africa last month. On a pitch that was not the easiest to bat on, Kohli concentrated like a hawk and scored a masterly 79. But then, after the master’s dismissal, the fuss was about how the 33-year-old had once again missed his 71st hundred.

In this ‘dull period’ between 2020 and now, Kohli has scored 20 international fifties, but all that has occupied the mind of the cricket fan is THAT one century that has not ‘turned up’. Surely, it is tough being Kohli, isn’t it?

Virat Kohli ‘THE BEAST’ between 2015 and 2019

Just roll the clock back to that period between 2015 and 2019. The period when Virat Kohli batted like a BEAST. The period where he was scoring centuries for fun. Let us dive into some numbers now. In this 5-year phase, Kohli scored a staggering 11910 runs in international cricket, averaged a whopping 65.08 across all three formats of the game, and scored a colossal 40 international centuries. That is 40% of Tendulkar’s international century tally in just 5 years.

There is more. In this phase, Kohli scored a stunning 7 double tons and recorded 89 fifty-plus scores in international cricket. It seemed like nothing could stop Kohli. That was the phase when Kohli was playing at a different stratosphere, a phase when he was shattering batting records.

The ‘Lull’ that has followed that Otherworldly peak

But after that otherworldly peak, Kohli’s career has entered a ‘lull’. Again, it is a lull only by his standards. And in the last 2 years, Kohli has not added to his international century tally. From 1st January 2020 till now, Kohli has averaged 37.59 in international cricket and has scored over 2000 international runs.

These numbers will not attract so much scrutiny if you are any other player. But, Virat Kohli is different. The general consensus has been that Kohli has been ‘out of form’ in these 2 years, despite averaging over 37. Phew! The peak between 2015 and 2019 was so humongous, that these seemingly ‘OKAY’ numbers between 2020 and now have attracted a lot of negative scrutiny.

Mortality will catch up with every athlete, irrespective of how great they are

But then, have we failed to understand that NOBODY can defy time? That even the greatest of athletes have to, someday or the other bow down before time?

Well, this is not the first time that one player has attracted so much attention in Indian cricket. Go back in time to that phase between 2011 and 2012. The phase when the great Sachin Tendulkar was chasing that elusive 100th hundred. Remember that Tendulkar was almost 39 at that time, and had spent more than 2 decades at the highest level.

But then, Tendulkar was GOD, wasn’t he? And, his devotees expected him to fulfill every wish of theirs. For an entire year, there was only one topic that hogged the limelight in Indian sport. And it was THAT 100th ton. Tendulkar was not given the room for failure, he was not allowed to be human. And in the process, not only did the fans suffer disappointment, they also strangulated Tendulkar to a great extent. Tendulkar finally did get to Mount 100, but that journey from No.99 to No.100 seemed like a marathon.

Let us allow Virat Kohli to BE HUMAN

The man labelled as Tendulkar’s successor is facing a similar situation today. Virat Kohli is human, and it is not practical for us to expect miracles from him every time he walks out to bat. And, accepting the fact that Kohli is mortal is the first step towards freeing the man up. For when freedom is given, Genius expresses itself. And Kohli is a one-of-a-kind batter, make no mistake about it.

That 71st ton will eventually come, but if we do not strangulate Kohli, it will arrive a little sooner. Kohli might have probably accepted the fact that he is mortal. But, are his vast legion of fans ready to do so?