Image Credit- AP
Now fifty. Five-oh, big time. By surpassing Sachin
Tendulkar’s 49 ODI centuries in just over half the time it took the great man,
Virat Kohli has solidified his place in sporting history. This is one of the
great marks in cricket that can never be surpassed. This sounds like such an
absurd, inconceivable accomplishment to a generation that grew up watching
Tendulkar lift India on his shoulders and propel them to the top of the world
game.
Ask any member of that generation, like Kohli, and he
would tell you that without his predecessor, he is nothing, that Tendulkar’s
feat is still unsurpassed despite the stats, and that Tendulkar set the path
for Kohli to follow as he pursued his Formula One career. However, he has
executed it in a unique manner.
He enjoys being in the spotlight and doesn’t give a
damn what your parents or you think about it. Kohli will do a bhangra in place
of a delicate wave of the hand and the melt-your-heart, why-is-he-so-cute smile
upon hearing “Saaachin! Saaaachin!” To the orchestra that is the
Indian cricket crowd, he will act as master conductor. He’ll mimic the
characteristic motions of Shah Rukh Khan. He will laugh with the opponent,
curse at them (Ben Stokes, anyone? ), and give them a hug. He’s full of compliments,
telling everyone who will listen that AB de Villiers is the greatest player of
all time and praising Chris Gayle’s T20 brilliance, but he doesn’t seem to mind
being complimented in return.
He is the third-most-followed athlete on Instagram, a
fact that consistently surprises the typical American podcaster. But he’s not
the same either.
Now that he’s an alpha male, Kohli isn’t hesitant to
admit to the world that he was once in pain and felt alone. One guy conceded he
needed to improve his game, did just that, and burst into laughter as he ended
the drought with a century. He laughed, mocking himself, asking, “Is this
why I was whining for two years?” Indian men in particular who are alpha
do not make fun of themselves. Kohli has it.
Similar levels of amazement are evoked by Tendulkar
and Kohli’s feats on the 22-yard line. Just as daring as Tendulkar’s
dismantling of Shane Warne and Australia in Sharjah, Kohli’s six-ball that
defied physics against Lasith Malinga and Sri Lanka in Hobart The same
open-mouthed astonishment that Tendulkar inflicted on Shoaib Akhtar when he
upper-cut Haris Rauf, is seen in Kohli’s pursuit of GOAT status, which is
equally uncontested as Tendulkar’s target-setting. But they project two
different auras from those twenty-two yards.
Thus, he will unabashedly stay true to himself. He
might score a golden duck or a fifty-first century in the next game, but he
won’t alter. He’ll tell the assembly to quit making fun of Shubman Gill’s
alleged girlfriend and concentrate on Gill the sportsman instead. He’ll put in
more mileage than any teammate and hold himself to physical standards that most
people would find inappropriate for the sport he plays.
He’ll take a wicket leg side, bowl with his incorrect
foot, and scream at the ridiculousness of it all. He will not back down from
anyone who mistreats a teammate they believe will be a simpler target. Basking
in the glory, he’ll glance around and find a stadium full with “Virat
18” jerseys. He will continue to express his opinions, wear his heart on
his sleeve, and not give a damn what other people think. He knows he’s the
best, after all.