Cut from a different cloth, Kohli charts his own course

RCB captain won't fall into the stereotype of a role model

During a sultry Mumbai night a few days back, Virat Kohli was thrown into an unfamiliar environment. The Wankhede crowd chanted “cheater” in unison whenever Kohli was seen in action -- fielding, batting and speaking at the presentation ceremony.

Kohli just couldn’t comprehend the reaction to a perfectly legal run-out scenario, and he didn’t hide his annoyance in the post-match press-do, criticising the Mumbai crowd’s behaviour in strong language. Kohli also couldn’t have comprehended the nation-wide debate that followed his comments because he was deemed a sore loser or an emotionally strained kid in many of them.

But does Kohli deserve such a harsh examination of his behavioural pattern? From a different angle, were we justified in wielding the moral whip on Kohli? Without trivialising some of Kohli’s on-field outbursts, answers to both the questions are in the negative. Perhaps, it’s time to view Kohli with a vision unclouded by judgment and allow the 24-year-old his own space.

It’s quite understandable why many of us still can’t come to terms with a cricketer like Kohli. A generation of Indian cricket followers has been familiar with the unostentatious ways of Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. They have been men of immense control over their emotions, their reactions to situations have been studied -- men who weighed their opinions with the diligence of a gold merchant. That’s why we watched in amusement when Dravid punched the air and let out a roar after reaching his maiden hundred at Lord’s in 2011. Our reaction was something like: “Oh! it was so un-Dravid.”

In our minds, they have been the model cricketers – sportsmen who our kids should emulate if they take up sports as their career. They have shown us the virtues of going about their business in a no-fuss manner. But Kohli is different. He doesn’t exactly fit into our imagery of a gentleman cricketer. He’s too brash for us. The Delhi lad doesn’t mind expressing himself freely on and off the field, and he doesn’t mind if that’s upsetting someone.

There’s a slight anomaly in that though. Off the field, Kohli is a refined young man who is quite aware of his path ahead in life and his chosen field. He comes as a thoughtful and extremely articulate young cricketer in press conferences, airing his views confidently. But on the field he transforms into a passionate, in-your-face cricketer, often too colourful for our taste. At times, though he’s gullible to even the minutest of provocations like it had happened during his altercation with Gautam Gambhir.

If Kohli was just another young cricketer, those episodes might have entered the freeze zone by now. But he’s not just another young cricketer. He’s India’s Prince of Wales. He will have to take the reins of Indian cricket – that’s the popular notion – once Dhoni steps aside. That makes his position all the more vulnerable. How can the future Indian captain be so reckless? How can he greet the crowd with his fingers? How can he utter expletives after reaching a hundred? Kohli thus is an anti-thesis to all our accepted norms.

But is he really bound to follow the path of a Tendulkar or a Dravid? If the answer is yes, then it’s quite harsh on Kohli because the Delhiite has already shown that he can handle fame, responsibility and expectations with ease. Hasn’t he once batted in a Ranji game against Karnataka hours after his father’s demise? Only a player with great character could do it.

 The idealists should also remember that Indian cricket is not unfamiliar with aggressive players or wild kids. Sourav Ganguly had pricked the ego of Steve Waugh while making the Australian skipper wait for the toss, and the Kolkatan also shattered century-old traditions while revealing his torso on the Lord’s balcony to celebrate a famous win. Then we came across an enfant terrible in Yuvraj Singh, someone who will understand really well the position Kohli is in now. The graceful left-hander used to mouth a swear word that’s quite common up north whenever he managed to cross three-figure mark or dismiss a batsman, before settling into the role a senior statesman in the dressing room. They have found acceptance. Now, it’s our turn to do the same favour to Kohli. We need to view him as a different player, and give him the breathing space as he grows into the role earmarked for him. Kohli may not become the role model cricketer but it would be unfair to imprison him in that stereotype.