Virat Kohli

What’s the old line? ‘An opportunity of a lifetime must be used within the lifetime of the opportunity’. We always talk about opportunities knocking our door and making the most of it. But here’s one cricketer who has maximized those opportunities and has triggered a confusion (a pleasant one though), on who is going to make it to the eleven.

Kohli’s has been perhaps a dream run as a youngster as he finished as the second highest run getter of the calendar year in 2010. He wasn’t the first choice player then, but has been the greatest beneficiary of the half-strength squad that India preferred to play almost throughout the year. His consistency though in acquainted conditions has been staggering.

Ego has come his way initially in his career but the temperament he has embraced in recent times makes it evident that the young man has worked on it. Initially he had a tendency of throwing it away after good starts but the matured player that he is now, he has anchored so many tricky chases for Team India batting at a crucial No. 3 position.

His ability to bat at No. 3 as an anchor and No. 6 as a finisher (for Royal Challengers- Remember he was the only player retained by them before this auction), have convinced people if not the captain about his adequacy to play in the eleven. Kohli along with Raina also form an acrobatic duo on the off-side capable of stopping 20-30 runs every game, let alone the pressure they build on the batsman by doing so.

So the equations reduce to this: we have to choose three out of Yuvraj, Raina, Kohli in the eleven. Yuvraj seems to have fathomed the theory of ‘easiest way into the eleven’ by honing his bowling skills though he is only a shadow of his former self as a batsman. Raina has been this ‘adept finisher’ India was searching for (though in conditions those don’t assist bounce and pace). Kohli has forced his presence to be felt whenever he has played. Yusuf Pathan has proved what he could be but the formula ‘how many times out of how many times’ doesn’t seem to go in his favor. If the argument is for the 10-15 extra overs that Dhoni should manage from the non-specialist bowlers, Sehwag, Yuvraj and Raina could very well be those men who could do so.

I’ve shown my priority order while listing the names straightaway. Suffice it to say that Kohli, unlike other youngsters, has forced his place in the eleven and this is will be the batting order I would subscribe on at least for the first two games (against Bangladesh and England), for it is worth giving a try.

Tags: Cricket, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, Indian Cricket Team, Virat Kohli, World Chess Championship