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Virat Kohli - The Mega Discussion

Cricwc2021 said:
If chasing 240 is a piece of cake Kohl’s should have done it against that very attack in the semis. Target alone doesn’t define greatness of an innings but there are many other factors too including, conditions, bowling attack, pressure of the situation, importance of that player’s wick etc etc.
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You're fixated on Kohli the player and unable tne understand the difference between what constitutes a good innings and what constitutes an iconic innings. I'm not saying Babar's knock vs NZ was not a good innings, it clearly was because it helped Pakistan get over the line. It just wasn't an iconic one.

Kohli's century at Adelaide against Pakistan in the 2015 WC was a good innings, because it helped India win the match, but it wasn't an iconic innings by any measure. Sachin's 98 vs Pakistan at the Centurion though in the 2003 WC was a highly iconic innings which every Indian remembers after nearly 20 years. I can assure you nobody remembers Kohli's century at Adelaide vs Pakistan even though it was a good innings too.
 
street cricketer said:
If you think chasing 230 in an ODI is an iconic innings, then you haven't watched much cricket in the past and you have to watch more cricket.

Kohli's serial failures in ODI world cups do not make Babar's innings an iconic one.
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Babar's knock was surely an iconic innings. It was against high quality attack, on a very difficult pitch.
Scoring a hundred is more difficult on a 230 pitch than a 330 pitch.
World cup pressure and it was a knock out game for us.
Has to be the 2nd or 3rd best innings of the world cup.
 
Mobashir said:
Babar's knock was surely an iconic innings. It was against high quality attack, on a very difficult pitch.
Scoring a hundred is more difficult on a 230 pitch than a 330 pitch.
World cup pressure and it was a knock out game for us.
Has to be the 2nd or 3rd best innings of the world cup.
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Lol okay if you say so buddy:narine
 
Happy Birthday to one of the all-time greats of the game in all three formats!

:vk
 
Kohli needs only one century to go past the legendary Australia batter Ricky Ponting to register most hundreds as captain across formats. Both Kohli and Ponting are currently tied at the top spot with 41 tons each as captain.
 
Kohli's test average watch thread

Virat Kohli is currently averaging 50.75 after 97 tests.
He was averaging close to 55 in his prime period.
If his current form continues, his average will fall below 50 in no time..
Will he considered a test great with below 50 average?
 
Unbiased-Fan said:
Virat Kohli is currently averaging 50.75 after 97 tests.
He was averaging close to 55 in his prime period.
If his current form continues, his average will fall below 50 in no time..
Will he considered a test great with below 50 average?
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If he averages below 50 when he hangs his boots, of course he can't be called a test ATG. His purple patch lasted quite a few years, he averaged 50+ in a calender year for 7 consecutive years which is no mean feat. However he is no test ATG if he can't reverse his form.
 
To think some fans compare Smith the test cricketer with Kohli lmao.

Gap between Smith and Kohli is wider than that between Kohli and Rahane.

Lucky to be captain, no way does he belong to India's first XI in the ultimate format.

Pretty sure Washington Sundar is a much better option to come at number 4.
 
Ab Fan said:
He is in the same league as Root and Williamson as test batsman.
Click to expand...

But still he will endup as ATG in across all formats, he has better LOI stats compared to others.

Tests- No
All formats -Yes, no one is close to him.

Overall - Big Yes...ATG
 
Last edited:
Cover Drive Six said:
But still he will endup as ATG in across all formats, he has better LOI stats compared to others.

Tests- No
All formats -Yes, no one is close to him.

Overall - Big Yes...ATG
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You can't be the best batsman ever or one of them if you haven't dominated your Era in test cricket.
He is regressing rapidly in the format?
 
MenInG said:
Kohli needs only one century to go past the legendary Australia batter Ricky Ponting to register most hundreds as captain across formats. Both Kohli and Ponting are currently tied at the top spot with 41 tons each as captain.
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Not actually guaranteed to get there imo….surprised to see myself posting this.
 
https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/cricket/article/virat-kohli-sets-two-forgettable-test-records-after-being-dismissed-for-a-duck-in-india-vs-new-zealand-2nd-test/837548

Virat Kohli set two forgettable Test records after bagging a fourth-ball duck upon his comeback to international cricket. The right-handed batsman was trapped in front of the stumps by spinner Ajaz Patel, who was the showstopper for NZ on Day 1 of the Mumbai Test.

Back to international cricket after a break of over three weeks, Virat Kohli didn't have a great outing and he bagged a fourth-ball duck on the opening day of the Mumbai Test match against New Zealand. He did challenge the on-field umpire's LBW call but had to walk back. The Indian skipper looked in disbelief as he watched the replays on the TV screen in the pavilion.

The replays showed that the ball made contact with the bat and pad at the same time. Hence, the TV umpire had to back the on-field umpire's call. As Kohli bagged a fourth-ball duck, he set two forgettable records in the longest format.

India's most successful Test skipper, Kohli is also the only Indian captain to register 10 ducks. During the England tour, he had leapfrogged MS Dhoni (8) to register most ducks (9) in the five-day format. With a duck in the Mumbai Test, Kohli has the unwanted record to his name The overall list is topped by former New Zealand captain, Stephen Fleming, who registered 13 ducks during his illustrious career.

Graeme Smith, one of the greatest cricketers of the game, shares the 2nd spot with the Indian skipper now. Michael Atherton and Hansie Cronje share the 3rd spot with Dhoni.

Kohli, who is playing his 98th Test match, is now also the Indian captain with the most ducks at home. He has failed to open his account in 6 innings at home now. He shared the top spot on this list with MAK Pataudi before the start of the Test match.

The 33-year-old's first duck at home came against Australia in Pune (in 2017), where the visitors pulled off one of the most memorable victories. He has departed without scoring five more times since then.

While he has registered 6 ducks at home, Kohli has a formidable record in India. He averages a solid 63.22 for his 3730 runs in 67 innings. He has piled up 13 centuries and 12 half-centuries at home. And not to forget, he has notched up 7 double-centuries, all as captain. No other captain has scored more than 5 double-centuries.
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What has happened to Kohli as a Test batsman exactly? Just seems to have totally lost it.
 
IAJ said:
Kohli, Chandimal and Nasir Hosain are the most talented batsmen who are playing currently.

Our hopes are Babar Azam and Sami Aslam because Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq etc are not in the class of the three mentioned above.
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Was looking at how kohlis career unfolded on pp and came across this comment. Babar is proving it right.
About kohli.. we all know he is a class act having a bad patch. He can turn it on soon. We ll wittness 3 4 good years of him i think if he doesnt go ipl way.
 
What is the obsession with tons?

He has 27 tons and 27 fifties. That is still a magnificent conversion.
 
Ab Fan said:
What is the obsession with tons?

He has 27 tons and 27 fifties. That is still a magnificent conversion.
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When you don't score a ton for over 2 years then it does become a problem.

And if a specialist batsman doesn't score tons what else is he supposed to do?
 
He looks pretty washed not going to lie.

Interesting to see if he'll have a career resurgence or whether this is it for Kohli as an elite or top batsmen.
 
MP2011 said:
When you don't score a ton for over 2 years then it does become a problem.

And if a specialist batsman doesn't score tons what else is he supposed to do?
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Read he's been averaging 20 since January 1st 2020 which is incredible given his form before it.
 
MP2011 said:
When you don't score a ton for over 2 years then it does become a problem.

And if a specialist batsman doesn't score tons what else is he supposed to do?
Click to expand...

I expect consistent performances from specialist batsman, even if they are not tons, if he can hit fifties on a consistent rate, I would take that.

Kohli's issue is that he is struggling to make any major contribution whatsoever.
 
483 runs at 28 from 17 innings in 2021 so far. It's a prolonged rut, and he'll have to regain some of his obsessive passion for the game to score runs at an elite level again.

raashidkhan89079 said:
I was also watching virat's recent interview with PM modi
Where he said he doesnt feel bad now if he misses net session but feels bad if he misses gym sessions.
So he clearly told his priorities
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This, if true, is a huge warning sign. The likes of Dravid and Ganguly would be abdicating responsibility if they don't have a quiet word with the test captain about his priorities.
 
Mohd Asif made an interesting observation about Kohli ie he is a bottom hand player and his batting is highly dependent on his fitness, reflexes, the moment there is any decline, it will be very difficult for him to regain the same batting quality and heights again.

Sachin in comparison was a top hand player and that style, technique was not highly dependent on age, fitness and allowed for a longer batting peak
 
Ab Fan said:
I expect consistent performances from specialist batsman, even if they are not tons, if he can hit fifties on a consistent rate, I would take that.

Kohli's issue is that he is struggling to make any major contribution whatsoever.
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Problem with Kohli is that he isn't even hitting those 50s.

As Aman said above, he is averaging 20 during last year or so which should ring alarm bells for any team, let alone for us whose batting capabilities have gone to dogs already courtesy M/s Pujara and Rahane.

Can't afford 3 duds in our middle order. In fact Kudos to our bowlers who are not only scalping opposition batsmen but also scoring some crucial runs since England series.

On top of that Kohli misses tests as per his whims and fancies. He doesn't even play FC cricket or practice games on tours.

If all of this isn't worrisome for you then what else will be.
 
Aman said:
Read he's been averaging 20 since January 1st 2020 which is incredible given his form before it.
Click to expand...
Anyone who refuses to believe that Kohli's rut is terminal, has his head buried in sand.
 
Aman said:
Interesting to see if he'll have a career resurgence or whether this is it for Kohli as an elite or top batsmen.
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He may show minor flicker in his batting but no way it'll be resurgence a la Tendulkar as his priorities have changed completely which wasn't the case with Tendulkar who despite his business ventures was never short on his commitment to cricket.
 
Do not worry about Kohli’s next century. BCCI will pull the same stunt they did with Tendulkar - hook him up with a minnow. (SRT’s 100th century was vs Bangladesh and in true fashion, in a losing cause).
 
Average is down to 50,65. One more bad series away from being under 50. Let see if he can do it!
 
Will Kohli's avg goes down Amla's way? Thinks his avg also 50+ 2-3 years ago prior to his retirement..
 
Great to see Kohli being shown his place in new order of Indian cricket. He simply got too big for his boots even when he was not scoring runs for fun like he earlier used to. On top of that, we kept losing world trophies under him.

I still can't believe BCCI showed guts to sack him from Indian LoI captaincy.
 
Dhoni, for all the power he once wielded in Indian cricket wasn't half as obnoxious as Kohli is despite getting far more success in white ball cricket than Kohli ever got.
 
What this has done is to open the door for Indian selectors to drop him from white ball teams if they feel his form isn't good enough for someone who is now simply just a team member.
 
MP2011 said:
Great to see Kohli being shown his place in new order of Indian cricket. He simply got too big for his boots even when he was not scoring runs for fun like he earlier used to. On top of that, we kept losing world trophies under him.

I still can't believe BCCI showed guts to sack him from Indian LoI captaincy.
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Yea you are right.
But what will happen to the "Kohli can never play under someone else's captaincy". Will he retire or make him unavailable for SA's tour?
[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]!
 
Kohli's end will be far from dignified. He will be thrown out of the test team as well, and no one will miss him. Time to pay for unbridled arrogance and toxicity. He only has himself to blame for his downfall, absolute power corrupted him.
 
Swashbuckler said:
Kohli's end will be far from dignified. He will be thrown out of the test team as well, and no one will miss him. Time to pay for unbridled arrogance and toxicity. He only has himself to blame for his downfall, absolute power corrupted him.
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If he plays for another 2-3 years his average will fall to 47-48 a Tendulkar like resurgence is unlikely plays too much T20 cricket and not enough first class.

It’s not easy to walk into tests and start performing at a high level without playing any first class red ball cricket beforehand when you are approaching a age related decline.
 
Contrary to what ever masala news going around, kohli is asked to step down only for his lack of icc tournament wins and nothing else .. NADA
India under kohli never lost any close games, atleast I can't think of. Most matches were lost when the top and middle order flopped. So that cannot be fault of a captain.

Otherwise appointing some one even older than kohli is a regressive move. I would have thought some one like rahul or pant will be appointed. Rohit might just be captain for couple of years Max.
 
globalcitizen said:
Contrary to what ever masala news going around, kohli is asked to step down only for his lack of icc tournament wins and nothing else .. NADA
India under kohli never lost any close games, atleast I can't think of. Most matches were lost when the top and middle order flopped. So that cannot be fault of a captain.

Otherwise appointing some one even older than kohli is a regressive move. I would have thought some one like rahul or pant will be appointed. Rohit might just be captain for couple of years Max.
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But why did he refuse to step down?
 
Kohli needs to concentrate on cricket and less on the bollywood type nautanki he is doing.
 
Mobashir said:
Yea you are right.
But what will happen to the "Kohli can never play under someone else's captaincy". Will he retire or make him unavailable for SA's tour?
[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]!
Click to expand...
I never subscribed to that rubbish theory!

If Tendulkar (a far bigger superstar than Kohli would ever be) could nonchalantly play under Dhoni, a total newbie then why can't Kohli play under Rohit who is technically his senior.
 
Cric1234 said:
If he plays for another 2-3 years his average will fall to 47-48 a Tendulkar like resurgence is unlikely plays too much T20 cricket and not enough first class.

It’s not easy to walk into tests and start performing at a high level without playing any first class red ball cricket beforehand when you are approaching a age related decline.
Click to expand...
Yeah.

Kohli just doesn't play any FC cricket which has rightly proved to be detrimental for his test batting form. In his infinite arrogance, he'd straightaway join India's test team after a hiatus thinking he'll start getting runs in tests just like he used to do 3 years back.

But test cricket is called test cricket for a reason.
 
Mobashir said:
Yea you are right.
But what will happen to the "Kohli can never play under someone else's captaincy". Will he retire or make him unavailable for SA's tour?
[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]!
Click to expand...

MP2011 said:
I never subscribed to that rubbish theory!

If Tendulkar (a far bigger superstar than Kohli would ever be) could nonchalantly play under Dhoni, a total newbie then why can't Kohli play under Rohit who is technically his senior.
Click to expand...

There are a world of differences between the personalities and attitudes of Kohli and Tendulkar.

Tendulkar was a mellow, docile individual who was not interested in becoming a superstar. He was only focused on scoring runs and he became a huge brand by default thanks to the runs that he scored.

Kohli is different - he is pretty much cricket’s Cristiano Ronaldo. He wants to be a superstar and an icon as much as he wants to score runs. He has a huge ego and he is obsessed with being in the spotlight.

It is very difficult for someone like him to play under someone else’s captaincy. The only way this would work for India is if Kohli swallows his ego and pride and accepts that he is no longer the main man.

He will have to cope with his downgraded status and will need to mellow down and become less aggressive and animated.

This is a distasteful move by BCCI and it shows that there is an anti-Kohli lobby that was waiting for the right moment to pounce. His poor form and the disastrous WT20 was the perfect moment for them to strike when the iron is hot.

Kohli is the greatest ODI batsman ever and he has won more matches for India than all other players combined over the last decade. He deserved the honor to lead India in the home World Cup in 2023.

This lobby is desperate to sack him in Test cricket as well but he is not giving them an opening because his legacy as the greatest Asian Test captain of all time gets bigger and bigger.
 
He only has two more innings to avoid another calendar year without a century.
 
Mamoon said:
There are a world of differences between the personalities and attitudes of Kohli and Tendulkar.

Tendulkar was a mellow, docile individual who was not interested in becoming a superstar. He was only focused on scoring runs and he became a huge brand by default thanks to the runs that he scored.

Kohli is different - he is pretty much cricket’s Cristiano Ronaldo. He wants to be a superstar and an icon as much as he wants to score runs. He has a huge ego and he is obsessed with being in the spotlight.

It is very difficult for someone like him to play under someone else’s captaincy. The only way this would work for India is if Kohli swallows his ego and pride and accepts that he is no longer the main man.

He will have to cope with his downgraded status and will need to mellow down and become less aggressive and animated.

This is a distasteful move by BCCI and it shows that there is an anti-Kohli lobby that was waiting for the right moment to pounce. His poor form and the disastrous WT20 was the perfect moment for them to strike when the iron is hot.

Kohli is the greatest ODI batsman ever and he has won more matches for India than all other players combined over the last decade. He deserved the honor to lead India in the home World Cup in 2023.

This lobby is desperate to sack him in Test cricket as well but he is not giving them an opening because his legacy as the greatest Asian Test captain of all time gets bigger and bigger.
Click to expand...

Why were you so wrong to say it will never happen?
Your "will happen" are not that true after all.
 
James said:
Feels like his stock has fallen a bit…
Click to expand...

People in India mostly judge captains by their ICC trophies, and Kohli has failed to win a single ICC trophy. Any long term LOI captains who fails to win an ICC trophy is seen as a failure. Kohli overestimated his popularity based on his test captaincy performance
 
Joseph Gomes said:
People in India mostly judge captains by their ICC trophies, and Kohli has failed to win a single ICC trophy. Any long term LOI captains who fails to win an ICC trophy is seen as a failure. Kohli overestimated his popularity based on his test captaincy performance
Click to expand...

Ganguly is considered the greatest Indian captain by some and he didn’t win ICC tournament right?
 
Ahmad-GERMANFC said:
Ganguly is considered the greatest Indian captain by some and he didn’t win ICC tournament right?
Click to expand...
We were down in the dumps after match fixing scandal when he took over. He was the one who made us believe that we can away too.

Not sure he is deemed as greatest ever Indian captain though.
 
Ganguly is undoubtedly India's greatest captain. He completely changed the mindset of Indian cricket and took them to new heights. The only reason he didn't win the World Cup was because his era comprised the great Aussies side who were literally invincibles.

Also, this ICC tournament is more a modern day thing because there are three formats and every year you play one tournament nowadays, two decades back, it was not the same thing and more down to consistently good output across all formats. The social media has also become quite more prevalent in these last 10-12 years so these stuffs do get thrown a lot and hence the ICC tournament is what matters the most for casual Indian fans.

In terms of captaincy, if I compare Ganguly, Dhoni and Kohli, it is :-

Tests - Ganguly>Kohli> MS Dhoni
LOIs- Dhoni> Ganguly> Kohli
 
This has nothing to do with not winning an ICC tournament and more to do with Kohli's unpopularity amongst his team mates and Rohit Sharma's growing popularity
 
Mamoon said:
There are a world of differences between the personalities and attitudes of Kohli and Tendulkar.

Tendulkar was a mellow, docile individual who was not interested in becoming a superstar. He was only focused on scoring runs and he became a huge brand by default thanks to the runs that he scored.

Kohli is different - he is pretty much cricket’s Cristiano Ronaldo. He wants to be a superstar and an icon as much as he wants to score runs. He has a huge ego and he is obsessed with being in the spotlight.

It is very difficult for someone like him to play under someone else’s captaincy. The only way this would work for India is if Kohli swallows his ego and pride and accepts that he is no longer the main man.

He will have to cope with his downgraded status and will need to mellow down and become less aggressive and animated.

This is a distasteful move by BCCI and it shows that there is an anti-Kohli lobby that was waiting for the right moment to pounce. His poor form and the disastrous WT20 was the perfect moment for them to strike when the iron is hot.

Kohli is the greatest ODI batsman ever and he has won more matches for India than all other players combined over the last decade. He deserved the honor to lead India in the home World Cup in 2023.

This lobby is desperate to sack him in Test cricket as well but he is not giving them an opening because his legacy as the greatest Asian Test captain of all time gets bigger and bigger.
Click to expand...

The team and country is greater than the needs of an individual. End off.
 
Ab Fan said:
Ganguly is undoubtedly India's greatest captain. He completely changed the mindset of Indian cricket and took them to new heights. The only reason he didn't win the World Cup was because his era comprised the great Aussies side who were literally invincibles.

Also, this ICC tournament is more a modern day thing because there are three formats and every year you play one tournament nowadays, two decades back, it was not the same thing and more down to consistently good output across all formats. The social media has also become quite more prevalent in these last 10-12 years so these stuffs do get thrown a lot and hence the ICC tournament is what matters the most for casual Indian fans.

In terms of captaincy, if I compare Ganguly, Dhoni and Kohli, it is :-

Tests - Ganguly>Kohli> MS Dhoni
LOIs- Dhoni> Ganguly> Kohli
Click to expand...

So Ganguly takes over team after match fixing scandal , that's why it makes it greatest captain?
Kohli has to be greatest captain india has ever had. His enthusiasm for test cricket and bringing more people to watch test cricket is greater than anything before. And we have not even talked bout records, he is clearly leaps away from anyone before.
 
Ganguly had same saga of taking team to finals or semis and losing it. Nothing different to what kohli has gone through. Ganguly politics in 2006 after being dropped due to bad form and blaming every one including dravid was a eyesore to cricket fans. Who can forget that?!
 
There's no debate about Kohli vs Ganguly as test captain anymore.

Kohlis' record is just way ahead of Ganguly (or any other Asian test captain) and that's the only thing by which we judge a captain.
 
globalcitizen said:
So Ganguly takes over team after match fixing scandal , that's why it makes it greatest captain?
Kohli has to be greatest captain india has ever had. His enthusiasm for test cricket and bringing more people to watch test cricket is greater than anything before. And we have not even talked bout records, he is clearly leaps away from anyone before.
Click to expand...

Ganguly was a revolutionary captain who completely changed the mentality of Indian cricket. He is like Allan Border of Indian cricket. Nobody was more enthusiastic for test cricket than Ganguly as captain was.

Kohli, on other hand, is more like Ponting but also with an impression of being one of the worst LoI captains India have ever produced. Ganguly is simply miles ahead as a leader.
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
There's no debate about Kohli vs Ganguly as test captain anymore.

Kohlis' record is just way ahead of Ganguly (or any other Asian test captain) and that's the only thing by which we judge a captain.
Click to expand...

What? The guy lost the ICC test championship by playing two spinners in cloudy Souhtampton, Has one away series in SENA countries against weekend Australia in 7 years. Did not win a single ICC event despite entering every competition as favorites with possibly Indias best ever LOI team and the list goes on.

His Captaincy stint was mostly a failure after Dhoni's ended with multiple trophies. Kohlis captaincy will be remembered for wins at home and Ashwin man of the matches.
 
This could be his last tour in SA.

Tests avg 51.3
ODI avg 76

Virat Kohli last eight ODI innings in SA
112(119)
46*(50)
160*(159)
75(83)
36(54)
129*(96)
51*(61)
0(1)
65(84)
 
I'm sure Kohli hates losing, but I am also sure that some part of him would be happy how things in SA panned out after the whole captaincy fiasco.

BCCI really made to look like fools here
 
Joseph Gomes said:
He was barely interested in playing
Click to expand...

You are probably right. Some players lose motivation when they have a lot of $$$. I think Kohli has a net worth in the $200 million range. Likely more than most active cricketers combined. Perhaps he feels he is ready to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
 
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