What are we going to do about Virat Kohli? He dominated the recently-concluded World T20 to such an extent that he was unanimously named Player of the Tournament for amassing 273 runs at an average of 136.5 and a strike rate of almost 147. He has now taken that form straight into the IPL, sitting firmly at the top of the run-scoring list like some kind of enraged orange cap-craving mythical creature.
Virat Kohli sits atop the list of run scorers in this IPL with 753 runs at an average of nearly 84 while de Villiers is second with 597 runs at an average of nearly 60. However, thanks to Royal Challengers Bangalore’s strong bowling and fielding, they aren’t among the playoff spots yet.
But the bowlers seem to have finally found a solution. Virat Kohli was requested to co-operate for an even contest and was asked to bat left-handed for the rest of this IPL season. This shocking request came after the Kolkata Knight Riders match last night. It came from none other than Sourav Ganguly. The Former Indian captain actually felt the agony of the bowlers who were completely slaughtered by Kohli this season, so he took the initiative to manipulate RCB captain and Kohli accepted the request, rather he would love to take the challenge as he has done in the past.
While speaking to Sportzwiki, a leading fast bowler playing in this IPL said, “We have to stop him before RCB take our spot in the playoffs. We have tried everything on the field, seam bowling, spin bowling, Yorkers, bouncers, everything and they have dispatched everything to the fence. It’s not a good idea to rely on their bowling to allow other teams to go through to the playoffs; so, we have requested Virat Kohli to bat as a left-hander for the remaining matches to set up an even battle.”
A spinner also suffered the same fate this season echoed the idea of his bowling comrade. “We are even afraid of taking Chris Gayle’s wicket now, can you imagine the scenario? This is the level of fear Kohli and de Villiers have put in our hearts. Now look, Gayle, has also started to find his form, what will happen to us then? Conceding over 300 in a T20 match will cause some serious mental damage to our species”, the spinner reacted angrily.
Some cricket pundits suggest perhaps bowlers might be given a chance against Kohli if they were allowed to throw one ball per over at him. Not every ball. That would be overkill. But a surprise delivery once per over with bent arm might prove to be the 2016 equivalent of the 1932 short ball by Douglas Jardine. Elbow Theory, if you will.
Alternatively, Navjot Singh Sidhu has a different idea about how to stop Kohli. Why not just let each team choose their opposition’s batting order? Being forced to bat at eleven might not completely stop Kohli, but it would certainly slow him down. Plus, who could resist the opportunity to see Kane Richardson and Varun Aaron opening the batting for RCB? That’s what you call a comedy night hangover!
Now, come on. This is silly stuff. What chance do bowlers have against that kind of behaviour?
Fortunately, there’s an easy solution that would give bowlers some hope against a chasing Virat Kohli. Simply don’t let him know what the target is. If he doesn’t know what the target is, then he’s effectively back to batting in the style of a first innings. Which is still extremely good. But it’s not unfairly good.
Oh, sure. There’d have to be some changes to how the scoreboards are programmed if we’re going to prevent Kohli from seeing his opponent’s score while he’s on the field. Perhaps he might even have to wear some kind of blinkers or blindfold to prevent him from tallying their runs in his head. In which case, the crowds would also have to be instructed to be as quiet as possible, so as to not give away any clues to possible boundaries or wickets. And his teammates would have to give him a heads up if the ball came his way in the field. And, of course, those same teammates would also have to promise not to tell him the target between innings or during the run chase.