When Virat Kohli achieved his career-best Test ranking as a batsman on Wednesday, the rise wasn’t as surprising, the shock for many was that he hadn’t already been among the top-three players in the world before.
If you look at his numbers in Test cricket – while they are only getting better – it’s not the excess you would expect of someone of his pedigree. At the start of an extensive home season against New Zealand in Kanpur, Kohli came into bat with an average of just over 45, while counterpart Kane Williamson averaged 51.08.
The Indian Test captain has had a phenomenal run in the shorter formats of the game where he is arguably the best batsman around, but in the longer format of the game he has seemingly always been a work-in-progress.
Kohli was never as prolific a Test batsman as he was in the shorter formats. That has been obvious to any observer.
Virat Kohli batting rankings:
— Saurabh Somani (@saurabh_42) November 30, 2016
T20Is - No.1
ODIs - No.2
Tests - No.3 [Began #INDvENG series at No.15]
Maybe it was the temperament or a slight glitch in his technique. Kohli would largely get starts and perish, but like he has done all through his career, he has set about changing all of that.
He made changes to his stride, strengthened his off-side play and controlled his aggression, the results clear to see.
Since the beginning of the home season, Kohli’s average has bumped up from 45 to 48.28. Kohli’s last six Test scores read 40 & 49*, 167 & 81, and 62 & 6*. Remember all of this while he is leading the Indian Test side and playing an opposition which came from behind to win the series in India four years ago.
The maturity with which he bats now is a delight to watch. He seems to have found the perfect balance between aggression and responsibility. A fine balance between these two means that the Delhi batsman is in control of every innings more than ever before.
The moment he takes the crease, unlike most batsmen at the start of their innings, Kohli doesn’t seem unsettled or nervy. Far from it, he seems to be in absolute control of things and has the ability to put the pressure right back on the opposition from his very first ball.
All of this combined makes him a deserving member of the top-three.
We must remember, though, that it wasn’t long ago when he ran into turbulent times overseas where the English bowlers and then, for a brief period, Sri Lanka too found a chink in his armour.
This meant that Kohli had a flurry of disappointing outings without much success.
Since then, he has evolved as a batsman in virtually every game. And gradually, like during the building of a monument, he has step-by-step put things in place which has not only improved his numbers but also propelled him in the rankings.
At this rate, with this consistency and this run of form, the top spot in ICC’s Test batsmen ranking doesn’t seem like a distant dream for the Delhi lad at all. When he reaches that peak, we won’t be as surprised.
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