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The Virat Kohli decade

From a dreamer to a skipper, from a lad who idolized the legends to himself becoming a legend. From a 8 year old who once aimed at achieving a specific mark to a 32 year old man who has achieved almost the double of what his expectations were. 

To the youth icon, to a motivator, to a role model. To the reliability who becomes the immediate demand of his team when amidst sea of troubles. To the panjandrum who leaves no stone unturned the spectators with his hardcore personality and last but not the least, to the one was born to lead and redefine the meaning of best. 

This is Virat Kohli’s decade in a nutshell. 

208 ODIs, 10,338 runs. 80 T20Is, 2768 runs. 86 tests, 7240 runs.

Player of the series in 2014 World Twenty20. Man of the series in WT20 2016 for the second consecutive time, 27 Test hundreds. 7 double hundreds in tests, 39 ODI tons. He scored 20,396 runs in all international cricket during that the time period, which is more than anyone else at the time, was also part of team India that won the ICC CWC 2011 and ICC Champions Trophy 2013.

All the magic in one decade. 

He grew as a test batsman, bolstered his place as the very best in ODIs and made the T20 format his very own. And his learning in captaincy continues. Tough pitches in Asia Cup. Almost unfathomable chases in WT20. Run scoring made to look as if a child’s play in the IPL. Scoring double hundreds on pitches where most batsmen couldn’t even settle in Tests. Almost every challenge cricket can offer you. And boy did Kohli answer.

Ask England. Ask New Zealand. Ask Australia. Ask West Indies. Ask all those IPL who were rampaged. Who is the best batsman in the world? Were you afraid to bowl Kohli? You already know the answer.

A decade that saw the rise of Virat Kohli. A year that proved that nobody in the recent times can even come close to what Kohli has done in the 50 overs format. A year that proved orthodoxy and not madness is what makes you tick in T20s.

Presumptuous, self absorbed, over the top and huge loads of different descriptive adjectives have been utilized to depict Virat Kohli and however his activities do appear to legitimize them now and again yet there’s much more to Virat Kohli than simply his tricks. One could undoubtedly detect his celebrations, his responses on the field and mark them over-the-top yet it’s a game. It’s energy that is been shown out there. As an avid supporter I’d love to watch an energized Virat Kohli hopping around, siphoning his clench hands, swearing now and again. It siphons him up, it siphons the fans up, an adrenaline surge is consistently a great component in games.

Virat Kohli was named as the ICC Player of the Decade and the Men’s ODI Player of the Decade.

He kept on satisfying the tag of being the world’s best batsman with more and more record-breaking years. Satisfying the expectations as foreseen by the onlookers, Kohli obviously demonstrated that he is head and shoulders over the rest. Seldom has a batsman ruled world cricket like he has done.

His vision and determination is second to none. He gives all that he has on the field. His yearning and drive for the game are out of the world, he carries unadulterated happiness to the sport of cricket. The manner in which he strikes a ball and puts it between the two fielders is just a sign of being a modern-era great. 

As the skipper of the Indian cricket across formats, Virat Kohli exemplifies eagerness, endeavor and greatness. To portray him as the ‘most prevailing’ contemporary batsman world wide would be an understatement. The mind-boggling nature of his exhibitions in every one of the three formats of the game has brought about him being positioned as the world’s best batsman ODIs and No.3 in Tests as of now. His crave scoring runs stays unparalleled. 

“My only intention was to make winning contributions for the team and I just strive to do that in every game. Stats just become the byproduct of what you want to do on the field.” – Virat Kohli.

As the decade nears its end, we can only look back and thank Virat Kohli for all the knocks that were a display of the stroke play of highest quality, temperament and technique almost at a peak it was never before. The nations pride has taken everything in his stride the praises, the criticism, the doubt and the fame. Here’s to the man who showed the world that young shoulders can still be worth of carrying the nations hope. With the years left is in career, we as Indian fans would only wish for him to keep going and taming a lot many bowling attacks in the future.