Rohit Sharma said - "Captaining your country is the biggest honour that you can have and for me I have never thought that this will arrive where I'll be Captaining one day. But yeah people say 'Good things happen to Good people'". (Dubai Eye 103.8 YT).
THE END OF DEBATE: KOHLI VS GAVASKAR
It's not just the quality of bowlers that makes cricket difficult in today's times, it's the variation of multiple formats that are poles apart from each other.
● I understand who all Mr.Sunil Gavaskar has played. He was the first GOAT of the game (that too Indian). He played Malcolm Marshal, Michael Holding, Curtly Ambrose, Andy Roberts and who not? He was the very first Indian to score 10,000 runs, and to do all of that without the HELMETS & without today's technological advancement, we bow down to you sir 🙌.
But Virat Kohli has played Dale Steyn, Michael Starc, Pat Cummins, James Anderson, Mitchell Johnson etc.
● But it doesn't end there, it's not just the quality of bowlers that makes cricket difficult in today's times, it's the variation of multiple formats that are poles apart from each other.
In Gavaskar's time, ONLY test cricket was being played, still there were about 7 to 8 matches played in an year.
Now the avaerage is anywhere between 12 to 14, YES WITH TWO OTHER FORMATS TO PLAY.
Where Gavaskar has played 125 Test Matches & 108 ODI matches in his career,
Virat Kohli has ALREADY played 113 Test Matches, 292 ODIs and 117 T20 Matches, if you include IPL (which takes 3 months off the year for the tournament) it becomes 387 T20 matches.
● For an individual, to be at his peak and be best at all the formats, actively, at the very same time, PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THE WEAR AND TEAR IT TAKES, NOT JUST ON THE BODY, BUT ON THE MIND AS WELL.
● There are speciality crickets like VVS Laxman & Cheteshwar Pujara, who only play one format, yet VIRAT KOHLI has managed to overshadow all of them by playing all the formats, throughout the year.
THE STRIKE RATE, that Mr.Gavaskar keeps mentioning, it wasn't even heard of in his times. The game was DEMANDING then, but not robust.
Now it's both DEMANDING & ROBUST.
● (Some Stats) Virat Kohli has scored 7 200s in tests (more than Mr.Gavaskar), he has HIGHEST number of centuries in ODI (beating Mr.Tendulkar) and is the all time highest run scorer in T20I (and IPL) with a strike rate of 138 (which is too good for someone as consitent as him, he is not a power hitter batting at 5 or 6, he's the anchor who stays on the pitch the longest and does the maximum damage too).
It takes a different set of mindest, skillset and aggression to be a cricketer of that class, who leads the national team at all levels with such a strong leadership.
● FINAL CONCLUSION:
Mr.Gavaskar has said (after Kohli's reply to his criticism) that why "these guys" reply to the outside noise when they don't care about it.
Well, Mr.Gavaskar, when a lion is passing off a particular stretch in a jungle, a lot of noises pass by his ear, HE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT THESE NOISES, but he ROARS every once a while, to remind everyone that HE IS THE KING OF THE JUNGLE.
With all due respect, from someone who is your fan too.
Thanks.
#kohli #viratkohli #Gavaskar #RCBvGT #SunilGavaskar #IPLCricket2024