They were going full vocal in the aisles at Eden Gardens… Ah, how we miss Tony Greig, and his ability to sugarcoat hyperbole with flair. To describe Virat Kohli on a cricket field, you need a Greig behind the mic and not a Richie Benaud. No disrespect to ‘his master’s voice’, arguably the greatest commentator the game has seen. But raw emotions and melodramatic baritone serve a nice cocktail.
Kohli is no longer the angry young man of cricket. He is now a senior citizen, doubling up as team mentor, be it the Indian side or Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Even seasoned pros like Josh Hazlewood turn to him for advice. Only a few minutes ago, the Australian fast bowler was at the receiving end of a pull shot from Kohli that was played almost with a vertical blade and the ball would have sailed over the long-on boundary but for the obstruction from the nets.
As RCB trained at Eden on Thursday, Kohli was enjoying himself. His beatific smiles attested that. Hundreds of fans greeted him with ‘Kohli, Kohli’ chants when he walked into one of the practice pitches in front of the L Block. At the other end, where Andre Russell was taking the Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers to the cleaners, swathes of empty seats in the B Block offered a contrast.
The IPL remains Kohli’s tenuous link to the shortest format after retiring from T20 internationals last year. RCB retained him for Rs 21 crore ahead of the 2025 mega auction. Even at 36 years of age, he is the franchise’s costliest player, getting Rs 10 crore more than skipper Rajat Patidar.
It defies logic. Or, perhaps it does not. As per Kroll’s ‘Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2023’, he is still the most sought-after cricketer, with a brand value of $227.9 million (approx Rs 1912 crore). The IPL media rights value stands at $6.2 billion for the current cycle, and Kohli’s stardust significantly contributes to that.
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More than 20,000 fans turn up at the ground when he plays an inconsequential Ranji Trophy game. Police struggle to control the crowd when he arrives for an IPL nets session, as was the case at Eden two days prior to the start of the new season. Kohli has reached a stage, when he doesn’t need the RCB, or the IPL for that matter. It’s the other way round.
Forget the fact that an IPL trophy remains one of the few missing pieces — the ICC Test Championship mace is the other one — in his cabinet. Apologies for drawing a football analogy, but Cristiano Ronaldo’s legacy remains strong even without winning a World Cup. It’s probably the same with Kohli. Former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop wasn’t off the mark, when he reportedly compared the Indian superstar with LeBron James, Lionel Messi and Ronaldo.
Has Kohli’s batting style in T20 cricket become passé, at a time when teams flirt with 300 in an innings? Over the last couple of years, his strike-rate, especially against spin in the middle overs, has been under the scanner. Then again, he is past the stage to be bogged down by the outside noise. He is the Pied Piper, who opens a wondrous portal wide, to paraphrase Robert Browning. When he advances, the fans follow.
Age hasn’t dimmed Kohli’s hunger. Intensity-wise, he can still match a 26-year-old. At the nets on Thursday, his focus was like a monk, be it while facing the fast bowlers or during an extended session against left-arm spinners. “It feels amazing to be back. The excitement and happiness is like every other season. I have been here for 18 years and absolutely love RCB,” Kohli had said a few days ago at the franchise’s Unbox event.
In 2008, at the inaugural IPL auction, Delhi Daredevils had dithered over signing a callow, and brash, teenager. RCB took the opportunity to rope in Kohli. As the IPL enters adulthood (18), Delhi’s loss has proved to be Bangalore’s permanent gain.
Also Read: Virat Kohli: A Name That Stops Traffic and Sells Out Stadiums
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