Virat Kohli’s form since the completion of the World Cup has not being too encouraging. The vibrant right hander has at times looked out of sorts and runs have not flown as freely from his willow as they usually do. Kohli’s failure has been the biggest reason behind India’s lackluster ODI performances this year. Since the last few years, Kohli along with skipper MS Dhoni has been the backbone of the Indian batting. With Kohli enduring a lean patch, the Indian batting unit was bound to take a hit.
Things began looking somber for the Delhi dasher post India’s World Cup 2015 semi final loss to Australia. It is just a no brainer to state that had Kohli in the semi final been patient and got himself in before playing that pull, India would have easily cruised through to the final. Who knows, had he not played that pull off Mitchell Johnson, India could have well retained their crown?
Such has been the reputation of Virat Kohli, that when he gets in, people expect him to get his team past the winning line. 2015 by far has been his worst batting year, as he averages a mere 28.64. His second poorest year, when he has played a minimum of 10 innings was 2010, when he averaged 47.38. The question here is clear. Should Virat Kohli be backed despite such a poor batting year? The answer to that is a sure shot yes. We analyze five reasons why Virat Kohli should be backed.
1. Just an inning or two away from getting into form:
Kohli at the moment is not even batting as worse as his stats depict. The right hander might not be scoring very highly, but at the moment from the batting front, he seems to be doing nothing wrong. The technical glitches of fidgeting to deliveries outside the off stump seem to have eased out. Kohli is even playing with a vertical bat showing the full face, which reduces the chance of taking the faintest of nicks. In so many ways, Kohli is just an inning or two away from getting back into the groove. He needs just one innings to pump his confidence up. Last year as well, he was struggling before a half century in Delhi resurrected his career.
2. Short of luck rather than short of runs:
India’s test skipper currently needs luck more than anything else. In the second ODI against South Africa he looked really well set before a terrible mix up between him and Ajinkya Rahane led to his runout. Even in the first T20I at Dharamsala, he batted as well as he does in his prime. It was only in order to accelerate the scoring further than he was caught by the only fielder positioned near the boundary. Even a little bit of luck will do the trick for Kohli and he will be back to his best.
3. India need him for the T20 World Cup next year:
Going into the World T20 next year, which is to be played in India itself, Kohli will hold the aces for his side. In order to compete and win an ICC tournament, it is a must to have experienced personnel in your rank. For India, Kohli is that individual who has a lot of experience as well as the X factor. Kohli averages a staggering 72 in T20 World Cups and has 6 half centuries in 11 games. His need for the side is simply defined in that stat! If India has any chance of winning the crown next year, then Virat Kohli will have to fire for them! As simple as that!
4. Very resilient:
Virat Kohli is someone who definitely enjoys the crunch pressure situations. While cricketers tend to wither away under the influence of pressure, Kohli simply blossoms. During the start of India’s long tour of Australia in December 2014, MS Dhoni was ruled out of the first test in Adelaide. Kohli back then was simply struggling in tests as he had the horrors of England still fresh in his mind. To top it all, he was named the skipper of the test side for the first test. While several greats of the game predicted India to blown away, Kohli took on the challenge like a lion. In his very first innings of the series, Kohli got a remarkable ton, and that was just the beginning of a really special series for Kohli. This time around as well, expect him to respond terrifically to pressure.
5. Genuine match winner:
85.97. That is Virat Kohli’s average in successful run chases in ODI’s for India. Kohli has been the fulcrum of the Indian batting since the past few years. The top and the middle order batsmen have revolved around him and he has been a rock of solidity for the Indians. There is not even an iota of doubt regarding Kohli’s abilities as a genuine match winner. He has single handedly won games for India across all the forms. Kohli already even before the age of 30, has his name drawn among the all time greats for team India. A genuine match winner like him deserves to be backed, and a few failures need not matter for a champion and daredevil like Kohli.