Playing spin the Virat Kohli way...

[Bilal7]

Sorry for mistakenly quoting. I forgot to uncheck you guys.

You are underestimating in big way. Don't know whether it is just your perception or bias. Anyway, he had a fabulous series in NZ against IN-FORM Southee & Boult back in 2014. Also scored a 100 England in the ODI series in 2011. Almost scored a hundred (rain curtailed his innings) in 2011 in South Africa, was 87* till the interruption and had starts in other matches in that series. And some fantastic innings in Australia to make him ALL-CONDITION player in ODIs. You have a point to prove that he failed in world cups, but not in overseas, where he had more than a decent record against all bowlers. He will definitely correct his record in world cups. If he couldn't, then there is every chance that his legacy and stature will go down. Don't think 2019 is his last world cup. He will be 30 by then, definitely will play 2023 at 34 and maybe even 2027.

Three good innings is all he has to show? He averages 20 in matches that India has won in Australia, England and South Africa, which is quite poor. I don't consider him an all-conditions player.

Personally, I don't think Kohli will player much more past the 2019 WC. He's been playing non-stop cricket for years and he's built a strong brand for himself where he doesn't need to play international cricket for a living. I can see him retiring when he is 31-32 and just playing the IPL and maybe starring in movies.

 

[spade]

I don't understand the fascination, people have in downgrading kohli, its not as if he is some legendary player who has fallen from grace, he was always an average batsman susceptible against spin, last time i pointed out his weakness floodgates of criticism came my way from the hordes of unreasonable virat 'fan boys' who came chest thumping about his greatness.

He has played over 50 matches and has only a couple of innings of note to talk about, the most recent being the double against England in mumbai, that was a chance less innings and an absolute batting masterclass. He has definitely improved his game against spin and is a far better batsman today than he was 6 months ago, having said that, he is no where near a legendary player and shouldn't be scrutinised so much, he is comparable to Sourav Ganguly at best.

 

[Rayyman]

2011 World cup:
Failed in Quarter Final vs Australia
Failed in Semi Final vs Pakistan
Failed in Final vs Sri Lanka

2015 world cup:
Failed in Quarter Final vs Bangladesh
Failed in Semi Final vs Australia.

Mentally weak player.

Not mentally weak. He is actually a pretty smart batsman. You can see that in the way he constructs his innings'; But he is emotionally weak. Can't control his emotions. Needs to learn from people like Dhoni, Rahane, and Rohit on how to stay calm.

 

[Mamoon]

Sorry for mistakenly quoting. I forgot to uncheck you guys.



Three good innings is all he has to show? He averages 20 in matches that India has won in Australia, England and South Africa, which is quite poor. I don't consider him an all-conditions player.

Personally, I don't think Kohli will player much more past the 2019 WC. He's been playing non-stop cricket for years and he's built a strong brand for himself where he doesn't need to play international cricket for a living. I can see him retiring when he is 31-32 and just playing the IPL and maybe starring in movies.

Lol, he isn't de Villiers. Kohli has worked incredibly hard to reach the level he is at now, and takes pride in playing for India more than IPL and T20 leagues. He's not a natural freak like de Villiers and wasn't a prodigy like Tendulkar.

Players with such work ethic always last long, he is similar to Ronaldo in that respect. Given the amount of attention he gives to his fitness, he will definitely play at the top level deep into his 30's. Not to mention that he has a realistic chance of breaking Tendulkar's records.

Obviously, he will have to retire from T20Is at some point and perhaps ODIs as well late in his career. He is the biggest brand in cricket at the moment and doesn't need IPL money to sacrifice his international career.

 

[Slog]

There is no overhyping. He is a brilliant player and an ATG in the making, that is all. The only problem is with the naysayers, who judge the quality of the pitch by the amount of runs he scores. It is not an overstatement that he's a superior batsman to Younis with a much heigher ceiling, could reach the heights of players like Tendulkar, Lara and Ponting etc.

why are you such an apologist for indian players and suck up to their cricket so much?

Just genuinely curious.. Is it to play devill's advocate or to rile people up lol? Like you actually go out of your way to do this....

 

[Slog]

[/b]

Lol, he isn't de Villiers. Kohli has worked incredibly hard to reach the level he is at now, and takes pride in playing for India more than IPL and T20 leagues. He's not a natural freak like de Villiers and wasn't a prodigy like Tendulkar.

Players with such work ethic always last long, he is similar to Ronaldo in that respect. Given the amount of attention he gives to his fitness, he will definitely play at the top level deep into his 30's. Not to mention that he has a realistic chance of breaking Tendulkar's records.
.

Tbf he is being talked about since he was 15 or so.

Transworld did a feature on him when he was 16 i think..

Obv times are different now so no one will be making debuts at 16 years age now. Also Indian batting was also much stronger when Kohli was a kid compared to when Sachin was a kid.

In any case he debuted at 20, and was no.1 ODI batsman in the world (as per rankings) by 23 or so

 

[Thomaskutty]

Kohli must be mentally fatigued after a long summer. A poor series for him so far.

 

[Haz95]

The reason people are quick to bash Kohli is that there are respected posters on here who are claiming that Kohli will become the greatest batsman ever, yes ever. This means that his opposition is batsmen like Viv, Tendulkar, Bradman, Lara who are all nigh flawless batsmen.

If such is the case, he must be analysed very deeply as his margin for error is practically non existent. The guy is too overrated considering the flaws he has/needs to rectify so his criticism is justifiable. In my view, he can end as an ATG, among Australian batsmen like Ponting, Chappel or Border. But him in Viv or Tendulkar territory? No way.

 

[SunRay]

[/b]

Lol, he isn't de Villiers. Kohli has worked incredibly hard to reach the level he is at now, and takes pride in playing for India more than IPL and T20 leagues. He's not a natural freak like de Villiers and wasn't a prodigy like Tendulkar.

Players with such work ethic always last long, he is similar to Ronaldo in that respect. Given the amount of attention he gives to his fitness, he will definitely play at the top level deep into his 30's. Not to mention that he has a realistic chance of breaking Tendulkar's records.

Obviously, he will have to retire from T20Is at some point and perhaps ODIs as well late in his career. He is the biggest brand in cricket at the moment and doesn't need IPL money to sacrifice his international career.

Top class post.

 

[Mamoon]

why are you such an apologist for indian players and suck up to their cricket so much?

Just genuinely curious.. Is it to play devill's advocate or to rile people up lol? Like you actually go out of your way to do this....

It irks me to see people put down players of their rivals just because they hate them. It's not limited to cricket only. Even in football, as an Arsenal fan, it irks me when other Arsenal fans put down Tottenham just for the sake of it. I don't enjoy India winning and I prefer to see them lose, but that doesn't mean that I should put down their players just because they are Indians. It happens a lot on this forum.

If Kohli, Ashwin etc. would have played for some other team, they would be rated differently.

 

[Slog]

The reason people are quick to bash Kohli is that there are respected posters on here who are claiming that Kohli will become the greatest batsman ever, yes ever. This means that his opposition is batsmen like Viv, Tendulkar, Bradman, Lara who are all nigh flawless batsmen.

If such is the case, he must be analysed very deeply as his margin for error is practically non existent. The guy is too overrated considering the flaws he has/needs to rectify so his criticism is justifiable. In my view, he can end as an ATG, among Australian batsmen like Ponting, Chappel or Border. But him in Viv or Tendulkar territory? No way.

Apart from last 2 sentences this post sums it up differently

Some folks want to rate Kohli at Sachin, Lara and Ponting level but want his scrutiny to be done at Akmal or Shehzad level

 

[Mamoon]

Tbf he is being talked about since he was 15 or so.

Transworld did a feature on him when he was 16 i think..

Obv times are different now so no one will be making debuts at 16 years age now. Also Indian batting was also much stronger when Kohli was a kid compared to when Sachin was a kid.

In any case he debuted at 20, and was no.1 ODI batsman in the world (as per rankings) by 23 or so

Kohli became the next big thing for Indian cricket after he lead them to the U-19 World Cup. Unlike Tendulkar, he wasn't earmarked for greatness at a young age and watching him bat, it is clear that he is not extremely talented like de Villiers or Ponting or Lara. Cricket is a game of character, which he has in abundance. IMO, he has overachieved as a batsman.

 

[Hasan123]

It irks me to see people put down players of their rivals just because they hate them. It's not limited to cricket only. Even in football, as an Arsenal fan, it irks me when other Arsenal fans put down Tottenham just for the sake of it. I don't enjoy India winning and I prefer to see them lose, but that doesn't mean that I should put down their players just because they are Indians. It happens a lot on this forum.

If Kohli, Ashwin etc. would have played for some other team, they would be rated differently.

I agree with this. Good post.

 

[Stallion__]

Didn't watch him in this match but he was looking quite assured in the second inning in Pune till he left one from SOK.

 

[Mobashir]

It irks me to see people put down players of their rivals just because they hate them. It's not limited to cricket only. Even in football, as an Arsenal fan, it irks me when other Arsenal fans put down Tottenham just for the sake of it. I don't enjoy India winning and I prefer to see them lose, but that doesn't mean that I should put down their players just because they are Indians. It happens a lot on this forum.

If Kohli, Ashwin etc. would have played for some other team, they would be rated differently.

Maybe because you do the same with other players: Steyn, Amla, ABDV etc.

Kohli is a brilliant batsman, but not good enough to be compared to Steven Smith who has a world cup to his country, scored a century in a tough situation.
The over rating of Kohli is so high here that you have to write the truth.

Ashwin, well, at best he is a good spinner. Nothing more than that.

 

[Sachin136]

Maybe because you do the same with other players: Steyn, Amla, ABDV etc.

Kohli is a brilliant batsman, but not good enough to be compared to Steven Smith who has a world cup to his country, scored a century in a tough situation.
The over rating of Kohli is so high here that you have to write the truth.

Ashwin, well, at best he is a good spinner. Nothing more than that.

Do you genuinely believe that Smith is better than Kohli in ODIs?