Virat Kohli: The Ambassador of Test Cricket in a T-20 Obsessed Era

After a facile series win in a recently concluded T-20 series, now India will take on Sri Lanka in the longest format of the game. The 1^st Test of the series is on March 4 at PCA Stadium, Mohali. People are expecting this as an easy series for India but still, cricket fans all over the world are very excited about this series due to various reasons. First, this is Rohit Sharma’s 1st assignment as a captain in Test cricket and the opening game of the series is Virat Kohli’s 100^th Test match. The former Indian captain will be the 12^th player to complete 100 matches in Test cricket. It is a huge achievement for any cricketer. We all know that today people are obsessed with the shorter format of the game due to so many leagues but still, there are many cricket fans who loved to watch Test cricket. Numerous cricket pundits believe, Virat Kohli is the reason that Red-Ball cricket is still alive. A few months ago, after Kohli’s resignation as a captain, legendary spinner Shane Warne tweeted, "Thank you for supporting Test cricket with so much passion and ensuring it is the top format of the game". Let's take a look that how a boy from Delhi became the ambassador of Test Cricket in today’s T-20 obsessed era? What makes him the pillar of the longest format of the game?

#Established By Adjustment:

Virat Kohli’s cricket career began when T-20 cricket started taking off its flight. He is one of the fewest cricketers who made an early impact in world cricket. The former Indian captain became one of the most dominating batters in White-ball cricket in a very short time which led him to get a place in the 2011 Cricket World Cup. But it took him a few years to prove himself in the real form of cricket. King Kohli adjusted himself very well in Test cricket by altering his game. After 2011, he started dominating in all formats of the game with his batting. Many people including Virat himself believe that the 2014 England tour was the turning point of his cricketing career where he scored only 134 runs in 10 innings. After this horrible series, he worked a lot on his batting and scored four Test centuries in four games on Australian soil.

#The Baggy Blue Return:

In the 70s & 80s, there was a time when cricketers used to play with traditional baggy caps. This cap is especially for the Test cricketers. But in the late 90s, except for Aussies, cricketers across the globe unfollowed baggy caps. In December 2014, Virat Kohli became the captain of India’s Test team. Since then, Indian cricketers are again wearing their traditional baggy blue cap in Test cricket to promote the format among the young generation.

#Improved Fitness Standards:

India is a country known for producing great cricketers, especially batters and spinners. A country where cricket is a religion has produced only a few fast bowlers. The major reason behind this was fitness issues. There are so many Indian bowlers who came into Test cricket with an early impact in domestic cricket but failed to deliver at the international level because of their fitness. Virat Kohli completely changed the fitness culture of the team by introducing Yo-Yo Test and some other high-level fitness parameters. Nowadays, fitness is very important for any cricketer due to the high demands in the game. Virat Kohli strictly followed all fitness parameters and also urged his colleagues to follow the same so that they can produce their best in the longest format of the game. As a result, we have seen instant growth in India’s fast bowling unit.

#Led With Vision:

A 33-year-old batter recently stepped down as a captain of the national team. This was a big setback for cricket fans. Many people including me believe that Kohli underachieved in White-ball cricket as a captain but in Test cricket, he emerged as one of the greatest captains in the history of the game. Since his debut as a Test captain, his vision was clear. He built a great Test team after Dhoni’s retirement and led from the front. Kohli improved fitness standards, built a great bunch of fast bowlers, brought a competitive attitude. These all things led him to become the most successful Test captain in the history of Indian cricket. He became the first Indian to win the Test series in Australia as captain.

#Never Ending Competitive Attitude: Virat Kohli always plays with a competitive attitude and aggression. In Test cricket, due to 5-day long cricket sometimes players also lose their energy in between but this is not the case with Virat Kohli. He always motivates himself and his colleagues in a 5-day long game with positive energy. This is the most important thing in Test cricket. Probably, this is one of the reasons that India did so well under his leadership in Test cricket outside Asia. 

Virat Kohli is one of the most passionate cricketers people have seen in the history of the game. All cricket lovers across the globe are excited to watch his 100^th Test match and want him to play the game with the same level of passion and attitude.