Indian cricket has been lucky enough to give a role model to the upcoming generation in every era.
If MAK Pataudi’s poster was gracing every house in the 70s, it got replaced by those of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev’s in 80s and early 90s. The following two decades saw almost every kid aspiring to become the next master blaster, Sachin Tendulkar.
And there is no doubt that current India skipper Virat Kohli has taken that mantle now. In addition to his exceptional batting prowess, his attitude and personality have made him a popular figure among the upcoming generation. Many feel that Kohli’s fearless approach on the field and his body language, his modern attitude is just perfect to appeal to this generation.
Kohli represents the next stage in India’s transformation in which the youth is a lot more confident and fearless than previous generations.
However, it seems not everyone is a fan of Kohli’s personality, and former India skipper Rahul Dravid is surely one of them. The legendary batsman known for his calm and composed nature has expressed his apprehensions about the possibility of youngsters not being authentic to themselves due to Kohli’s aggressive words and approach.
“I think the game is still about performance. So let’s not take that way from someone like Kohli,” Dravid said at the Bangalore Literature Festival. “That’s his personality. People have asked me, ‘Why didn’t you behave like that?’ But that’s not what got the best out of me. I would have been inauthentic to myself if I had tried to put tattoos and behave like Virat.
“Sometimes, especially before an Australia series, you’ll find Virat saying the most outrageous things. And I read the paper and cringe at times. But then I think back, maybe he actually wants that contest. He wants that lip on the field because that gets the best out of him. Now that might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But at the end of the day, he’s got to do what gets the best out of him. Ajinkya Rahane is very different, and he gets the best out of himself by doing different things. I think being authentic to yourself is very, very important.
“If engaging in a contest, sometimes needling the opposition, is getting the best out of Virat – and it certainly is because his level of performance is second to none in the world today – then so be it. You can’t blame him for it.
“What worries me a little bit is a lot of that gets translated into junior cricket. That’s the scary thing for me, not so much what Virat does. Kids at 12, 13, 14 want to become the next Virat Kohli, not realising that maybe that’s not authentic to who they are,” he added.
At the same time, Dravid expressed his delight over the fact that the Indian players were a far more confident nowadays.
“I think there’s a certain confidence and belief in Indian cricket today which has come about through results,” he said. “It’s definitely more evident today than from the time I started. I remember I was sitting on a flight and I was really excited going on one of my early tours and said, ‘It’ll be great if we can win the series.’ And what I got was, ‘We’ll be lucky if we can win one Test match. Let’s hope we can win one and draw the rest’. People expect India now to win. Certainly, there is a level of fitness, confidence and belief that probably didn’t exist when I was starting out.
“When I look at a lot of the India A guys or Under-19 guys that I coach, I can see the fearlessness and confidence. It also comes with a certain level of financial security. For me, as a 21-22-year old, I knew that the B.Com degree I barely managed to get in college wasn’t going to suffice, and I needed to make cricket work. There was a pressure to make cricket work and make it possible for me to lead a good life. Today’s cricketers know that even if they don’t play for India, they can still make a very good living for themselves. I’m very happy about that,” he added.
The legendary batsman also had a word of advice for the upcoming generation of cricketers, asking them to stay away from a player agent until the time they reach a high standard of cricket.
“One of the things I like to tell young cricketers is that you don’t really need an agent. Okay, a Virat Kohli or a Mahendra Singh Dhoni today need an agent because if they have to focus on their cricket and play at that high level, they need to ensure that somebody else is looking after their finances,” he said. “They don’t want to be chasing their dates, or chasing people for money that is owed. But at the younger age of 17, 18 and 19, having agents is definitely not necessary. I don’t see any big hoarding of a 17 or 18-year old. The only hoardings you see today are Kohli or Dhoni or one or two other Indian players. So it’s only when you reach that standard of cricket do you need agents to support and help you.”
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