What's new

Virat Kohli - The Mega Discussion

Sandeep said:
No Indian would deny the greatness of Wasim Akram, Imran Khan or Waqar Younis. We all know the capabilities of Riaz or Amir. They don't have any performances to show, but we acknowledge their potential.

Dost, it's a game. Nothing wrong in admiring good players. Even Indians would want some of the bowlers Pakistan has.. but we don't get them and are waiting to find them..
Click to expand...

fair enough.
 
My goodness.

T20i is pretty high quality cricket to be honest compared to leagues. Averaging 50+ in them is insane. He has set the bar pretty high for the rest.
 
Only if we had a bowling version of Kohli, there are many batsmen in current team who can cover for him, but bowling unit doesnt even have a raina version of bowler.
 
Getting boring now, I'd like to see him rested for the next match and let others do the work. But sure he wants to play and score, score and score.
 
Yuvraj should come at 4 and Pandya at 5 for the next match. Kohli, Rohit, Bumrah should be rested. Order should be -

Rahane
Dhawan
Raina
Yuvraj
Pandya
Dhoni
---bowlers---
 
Great achievement. He's found the perfect strategy to keep churning out those half-centuries in T20 cricket.
 
Sandeep said:
Thought he was bowling well at death and may be our 'better' bowlers like Yadav need some practice :P
Click to expand...

Nah, keep Yadav and Shamra ji for tests.

I am surprised at the exclusion of Varun Aaron for LOIs though.

My XI for the the next match would be

Rahane
Dhawan
Yuvi
Raina
Pandya
MSD
Gurkeerat
Bhajji (and please retire)
Ashwin/Jadeja
Bumrah
Nehraji

For the SL series they should try
Varun Aaron
Shami (if fit)
Hooda
 
Sidilicious said:
Nah, keep Yadav and Shamra ji for tests.

I am surprised at the exclusion of Varun Aaron for LOIs though.

My XI for the the next match would be

Rahane
Dhawan
Yuvi
Raina
Pandya
MSD
Gurkeerat
Bhajji (and please retire)
Ashwin/Jadeja
Bumrah
Nehraji

For the SL series they should try
Varun Aaron
Shami (if fit)
Hooda
Click to expand...

Exactly. Aaron is an LOI bowler, while Umesh is a Test bowler. Don't know why our selectors are having such hard time in establishing that.
 
Don't know why he can't convert success into long format.. Issues with temperament ?
 
Sachin136 said:
How much more success do you expect from him in tests after doing very well in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand?
Click to expand...

Very poor record compared to his OdI/ t20 standard.. In OdI he has only one competitor while he is peerless in 20.. In test however plenty are ahead of him
 
Chrish said:
Very poor record compared to his OdI/ t20 standard.. In OdI he has only one competitor while he is peerless in 20.. In test however plenty are ahead of him
Click to expand...

Kohli tops the list in terms of runs away from home since 2012: http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...2;spanval1=span;template=results;type=batting

He still has to improve but he has done extremely well so far. Even players like Sachin had multiple competitors like Ponting, Lara etc. I wouldn't say there are plenty of test batsmen ahead of him. In his "age group", the top 6 batsmen are Smith, Williamson, Kohli, Rahane, Root and Matthews. Out of those Root and Matthews still need to do more away from home. As for the other three, you can't say that they are comfortably ahead of Kohli.
 
Sachin136 said:
Kohli tops the list in terms of runs away from home since 2012: http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...2;spanval1=span;template=results;type=batting

He still has to improve but he has done extremely well so far. Even players like Sachin had multiple competitors like Ponting, Lara etc. I wouldn't say there are plenty of test batsmen ahead of him. In his "age group", the top 6 batsmen are Smith, Williamson, Kohli, Rahane, Root and Matthews. Out of those Root and Matthews still need to do more away from home. As for the other three, you can't say that they are comfortably ahead of Kohli.
Click to expand...

Kohli is CLEARLY inferior to many batsmen in test format.. Not saying it won't change. Going by what we have seen so far
 
Chrish said:
Kohli is CLEARLY inferior to many batsmen in test format.. Not saying it won't change. Going by what we have seen so far
Click to expand...

Fair enough. I haven't seen anything in Smith and Williamson that makes me think that Kohli is clearly inferior to them.
 
In good form.

Hopefully will take this confidence into test cricket as well where a lot of doubts need to be cleared. I see no reason why he shouldn't succeed in the longer format.
 
itduzz said:
Kohli is mentally weak player and lacks temperment. Chasing small totals against weak bowling sides in dead rubber is easy. He choked under pressure in CT match against Pak. He needs to score in tough situations like Umar Akmal.
Click to expand...

Oh lord!!!
 
What a player Virat Kohli is!

Yes the defeat hurts but for me it is already getting over as I was prepared for this.

Credit should be give where it's due and Virat Kohli is just too good at the moment. He has been in in marvellous form for a long time actually.

It is amazing how he can keep his head calm and just read the match situation. When Malik was bowling he figurued out quickly he needs to sweep at this wicket. I haven't seen him play those shots many times but that was the need of the hour and out came that controlled slog sweep and sailed over the boundary.

And against Afrid he just leans forward and ball raises awayt to the cover region.

And when he is settled even Aamir can't do much I am afraid. And the rest of the bowlers have no chance against him.

He is so professional, keeps playing proper text-book cricketing shots without trying to act cute with those paddle sweeps our players try after a couple of hits.

All what is in mind is that he is the last man standing for India allthough they have many wickets in hand, he just have to finish off the chase and not leave it to anybody else. Just this mentality is worth praising.

I know he has attitude issues but honestly if you are playing like this match in and match out, people will not care much about that behaviour.

What a player!
 
Amazing player. Great temperament he has, seems very unreal.

Anyone would love to have a such a player in their team. He always hungry for runs and never gives his wicket cheaply, which is what separates him from the rest.
 
IAJ said:
Yes the defeat hurts but for me it is already getting over as I was prepared for this.

Credit should be give where it's due and Virat Kohli is just too good at the moment. He has been in in marvellous form for a long time actually.

It is amazing how he can keep his head calm and just read the match situation. When Malik was bowling he figurued out quickly he needs to sweep at this wicket. I haven't seen him play those shots many times but that was the need of the hour and out came that controlled slog sweep and sailed over the boundary.

And against Afrid he just leans forward and ball raises awayt to the cover region.

And when he is settled even Aamir can't do much I am afraid. And the rest of the bowlers have no chance against him.

He is so professional, keeps playing proper text-book cricketing shots without trying to act cute with those paddle sweeps our players try after a couple of hits.

All what is in mind is that he is the last man standing for India allthough they have many wickets in hand, he just have to finish off the chase and not leave it to anybody else. Just this mentality is worth praising.

I know he has attitude issues but honestly if you are playing like this match in and match out, people will not care much about that behaviour.

What a player!
Click to expand...

The dude has immense skills and he knows too ! so he trains his mind to use those skills ... almost feels like he has watched the match unfold re-wound the clock and fixed the mistake(s) that might have cost him. Unreal.
 
In the past 1-2 years there has been may be a dozen occasions before a start of an India match I have thot , Virat is due for a failure some one else may have play well for us today ..and then midway through the Indian innings wondering , hes surely not going to play another match winning innings? I have lost count the number of "truely" match winning innings hes played for us a lot more than batsmen tagged as ATGs did in their whole career .

The flip side is that , the rest of the batting bcomes scratchy , the guy soaks all the pressure and makes it so easy for rest of them they seem rusty some times . This may cost us an important match of Virat does goes early .
 
The thing with Virat Kohli is that he is such a intelligent and sharp person.

His IQ level and decision making is superb as a batsman.


I believe that even if he was not a cricketer he would have been a very successful man because of his mental capacity & capability.


Superb Batsman.
 
jusarrived said:
In the past 1-2 years there has been may be a dozen occasions before a start of an India match I have thot , Virat is due for a failure some one else may have play well for us today ..and then midway through the Indian innings wondering , hes surely not going to play another match winning innings? I have lost count the number of "truely" match winning innings hes played for us a lot more than batsmen tagged as ATGs did in their whole career .

The flip side is that , the rest of the batting bcomes scratchy , the guy soaks all the pressure and makes it so easy for rest of them they seem rusty some times . This may cost us an important match of Virat does goes early .
Click to expand...

Don't forget the contribution from others like Dhoni, etc in those match-winning innings. I know whom you are targeting in this post but do remember Yuvraj stood today with him as did others in lots of matches unlike the ATGs you target where team lost even after they scored 150+ on their own especially when at their time the opposition would have scored 180 instead of 118
 
Last edited:
TalentSpotterPk said:
The thing with Virat Kohli is that he is such a intelligent and sharp person.

His IQ level and decision making is superb as a batsman.


I believe that even if he was not a cricketer he would have been a very successful man because of his mental capacity & capability.


Superb Batsman.
Click to expand...

The best thing I liked was that both in Asia cup and now, he took personal blame for the initial loss/getting out early. In Asia cup against Bangla and in World cup against New Zealand. It is amazing that despite all the fame, Kohli refuses to rest on his laurels. Anyone else could have shown his past record and claimed one failure is ok. Not Kohli. He said he took responsibility for his failures and thinks never again. What a champion, we are lucky to have him
 
And to think people like [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] were already writing him off after a poor year by his standards, saying that his peak was over and that he would only deteriorate from then on:amla
 
The great thing about Kohli is that he perfectly understands his strengths and weaknesses as a batsman. He comes across as brash and arrogant, but he leaves his ego in the dressing room when he comes onto bat.

He knows Amir is a good bowler, and thus, he gives him due respect. Same goes for other good bowlers as well. He doesn't try to prove a point by taking undue risks against good bowlers, and he always targets the weak-links in the attack, for example, he targeted Malik today and hit him for two fours, which kickstarted his innings.

His mind is his biggest asset. If you look at the shots he plays, he is not earth shattering but it also about the way he plans his innings and then executes it.

He will make a tremendous batting coach.
 
TalentSpotterPk said:
The thing with Virat Kohli is that he is such a intelligent and sharp person.

His IQ level and decision making is superb as a batsman.


I believe that even if he was not a cricketer he would have been a very successful man because of his mental capacity & capability.


Superb Batsman.
Click to expand...

IMO Its the sport that challenges the mind and makes a person stronger ,Kohli has always told he had to fight hard for his selection in Delhi and has been disappointed at times but worked hard the next year,don't think he would had been that passionate if it wasn't cricket.
 
Mamoon said:
The great thing about Kohli is that he perfectly understands his strengths and weaknesses as a batsman. He comes across as brash and arrogant, but he leaves his ego in the dressing room when he comes onto bat.

He knows Amir is a good bowler, and thus, he gives him due respect. Same goes for other good bowlers as well. He doesn't try to prove a point by taking undue risks against good bowlers, and he always targets the weak-links in the attack, for example, he targeted Malik today and hit him for two fours, which kickstarted his innings.

His mind is his biggest asset. If you look at the shots he plays, he is not earth shattering but it also about the way he plans his innings and then executes it.

He will make a tremendous batting coach.
Click to expand...


You just described test match batting. That's how good batsmen are supposed to play. Respect good balls and bowlers and target the rest. Do this by playing closer to your body. I think his biggest strength is his ability to soak pressure. It is just mind boggling.
 
JaDed said:
IMO Its the sport that challenges the mind and makes a person stronger ,Kohli has always told he had to fight hard for his selection in Delhi and has been disappointed at times but worked hard the next year,don't think he would had been that passionate if it wasn't cricket.
Click to expand...

You misunderstood what he said. If Kohli was passionate about something else other than cricket, he would have succeeded in that too because of his mental strength.
 
rhony said:
You just described test match batting. That's how good batsmen are supposed to play. Respect good balls and bowlers and target the rest. Do this by playing closer to your body. I think his biggest strength is his ability to soak pressure. It is just mind boggling.
Click to expand...

Kohli has said it many times that his batting method doesn't change regardless of the format. He follows the same template and that is why he will soon be the only batsmen to average 50 in all formats.

He is able to soak pressure because he no matter what, he sticks to his plan. That sounds simple on paper but is very difficult to execute, and that's why he is a special batsman.
 
To add to what others have said, he has an uncanny knack of playing risk free shots. In this innings, the only false/in the air shot he played was the sweep six off Malik

Many people say he cannot hit big sixes like Rohit or Dhoni. But thats not his weakness, thats his strength. The reason he is so consistent is because he plays risk free shots on the ground. He concentrates on picking the gaps instead of going big. And because he tries ground shots, even if he misses (which he doesn't often) he will still not be out.

Youngsters can learn from him on this aspect. He can play risk free cricket while still going at 140-150 strike rate. A really unique ability. As I have said before, we are really lucky to have him
 
Indiafan said:
Don't forget the contribution from others like Dhoni, etc in those match-winning innings. I know whom you are targeting in this post but do remember Yuvraj stood today with him as did others in lots of matches unlike the ATGs you target where team lost even after they scored 150+ on their own especially when at their time the opposition would have scored 180 instead of 118
Click to expand...

tbh I wasn't targeting anyone , certainly not Tendulkar. All am saying is , we have few other great players in the team & he still stands out amongst them thats how good he has been . MSD was one batsmen who could do it on his own , Virat is the second player who matches that self belief .
 
Mamoon said:
Kohli has said it many times that his batting method doesn't change regardless of the format. He follows the same template and that is why he will soon be the only batsmen to average 50 in all formats.

He is able to soak pressure because he no matter what, he sticks to his plan. That sounds simple on paper but is very difficult to execute, and that's why he is a special batsman.
Click to expand...

Yep I agree ... and i have heard him say the same .... awesome talent to just be able to time and place the ball in narrowest of gaps ...
 
He's won/solved limited overs cricket. Play proper shots and run hard between wickets. Simple as that.
 
Indiafan said:
To add to what others have said, he has an uncanny knack of playing risk free shots. In this innings, the only false/in the air shot he played was the sweep six off Malik

Many people say he cannot hit big sixes like Rohit or Dhoni. But thats not his weakness, thats his strength. The reason he is so consistent is because he plays risk free shots on the ground. He concentrates on picking the gaps instead of going big. And because he tries ground shots, even if he misses (which he doesn't often) he will still not be out.

Youngsters can learn from him on this aspect. He can play risk free cricket while still going at 140-150 strike rate. A really unique ability. As I have said before, we are really lucky to have him
Click to expand...


Kohli can hit big if he wants to. He's said this specifically that he backs himself to hit the 4s instead and stay not out. This is one area where he's beaten some ghreats of the game i believe who would get out playing for 6s sometimes when in good form.
 
Kohli is Cricket's biggest star right now along with Amir and Joe The Root baby.
 
Indiafan said:
The best thing I liked was that both in Asia cup and now, he took personal blame for the initial loss/getting out early. In Asia cup against Bangla and in World cup against New Zealand. It is amazing that despite all the fame, Kohli refuses to rest on his laurels. Anyone else could have shown his past record and claimed one failure is ok. Not Kohli. He said he took responsibility for his failures and thinks never again. What a champion, we are lucky to have him
Click to expand...

yep like shahzad after being dropped said that I have a very good record . Like Umar akmal says all the time. Thats the difference
 
TalentSpotterPk said:
The thing with Virat Kohli is that he is such a intelligent and sharp person.

His IQ level and decision making is superb as a batsman.


I believe that even if he was not a cricketer he would have been a very successful man because of his mental capacity & capability.


Superb Batsman.
Click to expand...

Please don't say things like this.
 
Mamoon said:
The great thing about Kohli is that he perfectly understands his strengths and weaknesses as a batsman. He comes across as brash and arrogant, but he leaves his ego in the dressing room when he comes onto bat.

He knows Amir is a good bowler, and thus, he gives him due respect. Same goes for other good bowlers as well. He doesn't try to prove a point by taking undue risks against good bowlers, and he always targets the weak-links in the attack, for example, he targeted Malik today and hit him for two fours, which kickstarted his innings.

His mind is his biggest asset. If you look at the shots he plays, he is not earth shattering but it also about the way he plans his innings and then executes it.

He will make a tremendous batting coach.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Hes no Tendulkar/Lara/Ponting/AB in terms of natural ability and to play all the strokes but atleast in LOIs he's just as effective.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Agreed. Hes no Tendulkar/Lara/Ponting/AB in terms of natural ability and to play all the strokes but atleast in LOIs he's just as effective.
Click to expand...

How can people say this when he can hit any ball in any gap he wants, all along the ground and get four of even good balls? He has intentionally cut down on high risk/low return shots but that doesn't mean he can't hit them. Someone who can turn on aggression any time he wants, who can control the game as he wants and score at any strike rate at will cannot lack natural ability
 
Mamoon said:
The great thing about Kohli is that he perfectly understands his strengths and weaknesses as a batsman. He comes across as brash and arrogant, but he leaves his ego in the dressing room when he comes onto bat.

He knows Amir is a good bowler, and thus, he gives him due respect. Same goes for other good bowlers as well. He doesn't try to prove a point by taking undue risks against good bowlers, and he always targets the weak-links in the attack, for example, he targeted Malik today and hit him for two fours, which kickstarted his innings.
Click to expand...

This is one aspect where I think he's different from past greats. Viv Lara Sachin always made it a point to attack the best bowlers . I remember sachin saying in interviews about planning for 6 months thinking about playing Pak bowlers in 2003 WC. These guys had the skill take on the best bowlers and came out on top more often than not.

It might be used against Kohli at some point . In terms of comparing him with past greats .
 
Indiafan said:
How can people say this when he can hit any ball in any gap he wants, all along the ground and get four of even good balls? He has intentionally cut down on high risk/low return shots but that doesn't mean he can't hit them. Someone who can turn on aggression any time he wants, who can control the game as he wants and score at any strike rate at will cannot lack natural ability
Click to expand...

Kohli is not as talented as those greats, even he has admitted in many interviews that he is not the most talented guy in the team, he can't match Rohit Sharma in stroke play, but the best thing about him is his IQ, he is one of the most intelligent cricketer to ever play the game, he knows his limitations and works on his strengths, he will probably surpass all the greats of this game if he continues like this, he is the best example for showing that temperament is more important than talent to succeed in cricket, the most talented cricketers in the world can't even touch Kohli today, I think he will make a great captain too
 
It seems like Kohli has defined a beast mode within the beast zone itself. Phenomenal form!
 
Don't know why people are jumping on Kohli's today's innings in MML against legends like Dinda and RPS along with Bhatia :)

It's always seems funny people comparing PSL or IPL innings with international one.
 
#GreenRoars said:
Don't know why people are jumping on Kohli's today's innings in MML against legends like Dinda and RPS along with Bhatia :)

It's always seems funny people comparing PSL or IPL innings with international one.
Click to expand...

He's played such innings time and time again on the international level :)
 
#GreenRoars said:
Don't know why people are jumping on Kohli's today's innings in MML against legends like Dinda and RPS along with Bhatia :)

It's always seems funny people comparing PSL or IPL innings with international one.
Click to expand...

Getting boring already. Come up with better ones..
 
carrom_ball said:
Kohli is not as talented as those greats, even he has admitted in many interviews that he is not the most talented guy in the team, he can't match Rohit Sharma in stroke play, but the best thing about him is his IQ, he is one of the most intelligent cricketer to ever play the game, he knows his limitations and works on his strengths, he will probably surpass all the greats of this game if he continues like this, he is the best example for showing that temperament is more important than talent to succeed in cricket, the most talented cricketers in the world can't even touch Kohli today, I think he will make a great captain too
Click to expand...

Again, that is your opinion. IMO, he CAN match Rohit Sharma's stroke play, he DELIBERATELY chooses not to.

Can you tell me what his limitations are? Hitting sixes? But he has shown time and again that he can hit sixes at will if required. As he said in yesterdays post match interview, he deliberately chooses to play the most risk free shots

You seem to assume that if Kohli does not play flashy shots, that means he cannot. Yet he has shown it is because flashy shots are more risky. He has shown that he can hit the ball towards any part of the ground with more range than Rohit Sharma if there is no fielder there or if team requires.

IMO Kohli has a much better range of stroke play and ability than Sharma has. Sharma looks flashy as he is an instinctive player, if you give him a short ball, he will try for a six no matter what the situation. Kohli can either play it for a single, roll his wrist for a 4, or try for a 6 depending on the situation.

Just because Kohli chooses to mostly hit cover drives and towards mid wicket its not because he cannot hit the same ball elsewhere, in fact he has shown repeatedly that he can if he wants. Its just that those are the most risk free shots in cricket and can be played along the ground. Therefore its a conscious decision to hit those

I don't know how you think someone who hits a couple of flashy sixes is more talented or has more range than someone who can hit the same ball to any gap, all along the ground.
 
Do we really need so many Kohli threads when we have this one? He's good but the way many on PP are going on you would think he's the second coming of Christ. It's like the old days where every second thread would be about Tendulkar or Afridi.

Moving onto the cricket the man is in rather good form isn't he.

His last 20 international T20 innings:

54, 57*, 23, 72*, 77, 66, 43, 1, 90*, 59*, 50, 7, 49, 56*, 41*, 23, 55*, 24, 82*, 89*.

This years IPL:

75, 79, 33, 80, 100*, 14, 52, 108*, 20, 7, 109, 75*, 113.

For me he's overtaken ABDV as the best T20 player in the world.
 
Gabbar Singh said:
Do we really need so many Kohli threads when we have this one? He's good but the way many on PP are going on you would think he's the second coming of Christ. It's like the old days where every second thread would be about Tendulkar or Afridi.

Moving onto the cricket the man is in rather good form isn't he.

His last 20 international T20 innings:

54, 57*, 23, 72*, 77, 66, 43, 1, 90*, 59*, 50, 7, 49, 56*, 41*, 23, 55*, 24, 82*, 89*.

This years IPL:

75, 79, 33, 80, 100*, 14, 52, 108*, 20, 7, 109, 75*, 113.

For me he's overtaken ABDV as the best T20 player in the world.
Click to expand...

When was ABD the best T20 player in the world?
 
Bhai koi tou rokh lo issay. Har innings mein century


Wow wow wow :raja
 
This kind of consistency will be impossible to sustain but even if Kohli hits 3-4 purple patches of such proportion during his career he'll end up with excellent records in all formats of the game.
 
Gabbar Singh said:
Do we really need so many Kohli threads when we have this one? He's good but the way many on PP are going on you would think he's the second coming of Christ. It's like the old days where every second thread would be about Tendulkar or Afridi.

Moving onto the cricket the man is in rather good form isn't he.

His last 20 international T20 innings:

54, 57*, 23, 72*, 77, 66, 43, 1, 90*, 59*, 50, 7, 49, 56*, 41*, 23, 55*, 24, 82*, 89*.

This years IPL:

75, 79, 33, 80, 100*, 14, 52, 108*, 20, 7, 109, 75*, 113.

For me he's overtaken ABDV as the best T20 player in the world.
Click to expand...

AB de Villiers never was the best T20 player in the world, it was Chris Gayle.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Buffet
Kumar Sangakkara versus Virat Kohli in the Test format
2 3
Replies
177
Views
2K
Hawkeye
H
Ab Fan
Virat Kohli versus Kapil Dev – who is the greater Test cricketer and who made a bigger impact?
Replies
27
Views
392
amax
amax
FearlessRoar
Virat Kohli named as ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year (2023)
Replies
25
Views
1K
mikeypbadana86
M
Z
The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 discussion
2
Replies
118
Views
6K
FearlessRoar
FearlessRoar
Hitman
'He's among top 4, 5 greatest cricketers I have seen': Courtney Walsh on Virat Kohli
Replies
12
Views
1K
Asad T
Asad T
Back
Top