The Curious Case of Virat Kohli

Will India leave Virat Kohli out of the T20 World Cup side? Can they? Virat Kohli led the run-scoring charts in the 2022 T20 World Cup and was the man of the tournament in the 2016 and 2014 editions. While 2016 and 2014 may be considered an era gone by, 2022 certainly did show that he remains an integral part of the unit.

In the last two years alone Virat Kohli showed that he can save India when it matters the most. Back in 2021 it was he who helped India get to a presentable score when Shaheen Shah Afridi had them in tatters in their opening game of the 2021 T20 World Cup. In 2022 he came up with one of the best knocks in T20 Cricket to drag India to victory in from of nearly 90000 fans in Melbourne against Pakistan again.

Both World Cups though tend to come with flashes of another side of his style of play. In 2022, Virat Kohli came up with some of the best knocks in the tournament but was then criticized for his approach in the Semi-Finals against England. Facing off in Adelaide Virat Kohli did get off to a good start that day. Wickets on the other end and the initial slowness in the track though had India looking at a score that they felt was par. Virat Kohli then went on to anchor the innings with his 50 but could not kick on after that and was dismissed with a rather disappointing strike-rate.

That T20 turned out to be his last until the second T20 against Afghanistan recently. With India looking at IPL talent and focusing on players who are seen as hitters and stroke-players questions on his requirement in the shorter format continued to grow.

Are the questions justified though? While his strike rate never went to alarming peaks, his ability and run-scoring style in the IPL continued to do well. He stuck to his strengths of playing solid cricketing shots and running between the wickets.

In 2022 he was criticized for his strike-rate post powerplay. Starting strong against pace Virat Kohli tended to get defensive and struggled to force the pace against spin. He took the role of anchor which turned out to be the issue. In 2023 though Virat Kohli took on the spinners, which helped him not only improve his strike rate but also his batting average.

Known as a player who can control the innings better the longer he stays, Virat Kohli thrived in the anchor role in the recent World Cup. His form overall is certainly not a concern with Virat Kohli going through a monstrous World Cup. His ability to hit the big scores though is where the questions arise. However, does India have a player better than him when the going gets tough or if they need someone to hold an end?

Anchors are almost non-existent in T20 Cricket but a stroke-playing batter who can score runs at a fair pace and hold his wicket still has a fair bit of value. Virat Kohli himself showed that they do with his performance in the previous World Cup with his masterclass against Pakistan.

With the other stroke players doing well though Virat Kohli did show that he can transform his style of play. In the 2nd T20 against Afghanistan, Virat Kohli came out with intent and delivered in his brief stay. Again, not focusing on slogging, Virat Kohli was aggressive with his shot selection, especially against the spinners. Knowing that the pitch was on the flatter side and with some in-form youngsters behind him Virat Kohli had a point to prove.

He put his safety-first approach aside and went for it in a mini-cameo. His knock proved that Virat Kohli is willing to adapt to the needs of the format which is the least suited to his style of play. While it is the least suited, Virat Kohli has shown that he is one of the greatest in the format with some out-of-the-world performances that do not need to go further back than last year. He continues to try something different and now with the hurt of losing a World Cup Virat Kohli returns, eager to get another World Cup back.