Kohli presents a strong WC case

Bengaluru: It may seem, at this juncture, unfair to debate if Virat Kohli should be on the plane to the USA and the West Indies for the T20 World Cup starting one and a half months from now. 

As of Wednesday, he is the top run-getter by some distance in the ongoing IPL, has maintained an impressive 147.34 strike rate (significantly higher than his career IPL strike rate of 130.75), remains as agile as ever on the field and, despite being away from competitive cricket for nearly three months in the run-up to the 17th edition, is striking the ball as well as he ever has. So, he ticks all the required boxes to merit selection. But is that as simple because, sometimes, what statistics reveal is merely suggestive and what they hide can be vital.

Though the IPL has fast-tracked the international careers of several Indian cricketers, there still remains a big gulf in the quality between the league and international cricket, notwithstanding an impressive ensemble of local and foreign recruits. While the quality on the field is the ideal parameter to judge if a player is ready to graduate to international cricket in terms of attitude and fortitude, to assess someone like Kohli, already a true modern-day great, we need to go beyond the tangibles. 

There are both positive and not-so-positive aspects to Kohli’s batting, but do the positives outweigh the negatives? Are they circumstantial or inherent?       

At Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Kohli is still the undisputed king even if he doesn’t wear the crown any longer. There is practically no one in the franchise that can deny him what he wants. So, he can open the batting. He has been doing so for close to a decade now. This season especially, he has been able to make the most of the six-over Powerplay and, more impressively, has managed to carry on with the momentum. With 361 runs from seven innings, he sits atop the run-charts but here is a bit of a downer -- the right-hander has the lowest strike rate among the top-10 run-makers.

In isolation, an SR of nearly 148 is more than acceptable but would he be able to achieve that without batting in the top two positions, which he doesn’t when he is in India colours? Of course, batting also depends on team dynamics and Kohli has been saddled with an under-performing top-order at RCB which has forced him to exercise caution to a certain extent. To his credit, though, Kohli has almost managed to maintain the Powerplay SR (see box) between overs seven and 16 too so far. It’s obvious that the momentum gained in the Powerplay has enabled him to sustain the pace, but would he be the same force were he to come in after the field restrictions are lifted?

As the stats suggest, his record against pace is much better than spin. While he has scored at 159.85 against pacers and at 130.09 against spinners this season, the numbers are poorer for the preceding years. And with little time for consolidation in T20s these days, will Kohli be able to work the same magic with the pace off the ball? It’s no surprise that on more than one occasion this season, rival captains have summoned spinners at the sight of Kohli.     

The jury is still out on this but there’s also a school of thought that believes Kohli would be ideal for the Caribbean pitches that could play low and slow. That seems a bit paradoxical but the logic is that, and it’s a sound one, the playing surfaces aren’t going to be as flat as the ones we find in IPL and totals in the range of 150-160 could be commonplace. Given Kohli’s supreme ability to size up conditions and situations, he can play a pivotal role -- be it in setting what could be a winning total or marshalling a chase when he need not play a big shot every ball like he has to in the IPL, where even 200-plus scores have almost become a norm. 

There is also a certain Brian Lara who believes Rohit Sharma and Kohli should open in the World Cup and the RCB mascot has presented a strong case for that. But whether he opens or bats at his customary (for India) No. 3 position, Kohli has made it almost impossible for the selectors to overlook him despite the obvious concerns.