Hosts India meet Sri Lanka in first of the two-Test series, beginning in Mohali on March 4
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00:00Well, we are talking about Virat Kohli's 100th Test match. And when you talk about 100th Test match in the highest format of the game, very few Indian cricketers have made it to be precise 11th cricketer. He would be the 11th cricketer if I am not wrong.
00:11Hello everyone. Welcome to Straight Bad with Gulf News and Mr Cricket UAE. That is Anees Sarjan.
00:25We are here to discuss Virat Kohli's 100th Test which is against Sri Lanka. So, on the eve of that, we would look back at his career and his milestones in his career as well as what the future holds for him.
00:40And with Anees Sarjan, I have Sahil Sarjan, a cricket enthusiast and the Sports Editor of Gulf News. That is Satish. Welcome, guys.
00:48And before I dive into it, let's hear it from Anees Sarjan on what he thinks of Kohli's career so far and what will take him ahead.
00:58Thank you, Shyam. Hello, Satish. Hello, Sahil. And hello to all the beautiful people of Gulf News.
01:03Well, we are talking about Virat Kohli's 100th Test match. And when you talk about 100th Test match in the highest format of the game, very few Indian cricketers have made it to be precise 11th cricketer.
01:13He would be the 11th cricketer if I am not wrong. And playing a 100th Test match at Mohali, which is also an iconic cricket ground, is going to be very, very special.
01:21And now that the BCC have allowed 50% of the crowd to see, it's going to be a treat for all the fans, all the spectators and all the people watching on TV to watch their favourite cricketer, Virat Kohli.
01:32Going on to the field and playing his 100th Test match.
01:36Satish, what are your thoughts on Virat Kohli at this time? It's actually a century of Test matches. What are your thoughts exactly?
01:48Shyam, just to trace back his career as an under-19 captain to how he came in as a young kid and now he is playing his 100th Test.
02:00In this generation, we saw Sachin Tendulkar, then we are seeing Virat Kohli. So I think we are all blessed in that way to see some of the best in the business to come in this era and in this generation where we can watch them.
02:18Coming to Virat Kohli, I think that says a lot about his tenacity and his passion to play.
02:28And moreover, he can leverage his 100th Test match which is pretty, pretty good. In my opinion, that itself says a lot about his character and of course, his game as well as a player.
02:49Sahil, what is your best memory of Virat Kohli?
02:53In Test cricket, he came I think in 2011 in the Test format. He started obviously slow but I remember his best memory, I think we can never forget that 2014 when India went to Australia.
03:08Even though we lost that series, there was that different Virat Kohli coming with fire against Mitchell Johnson and co. Even though India may have lost that series but I think that guy had scored 4-5 centuries in that series which is not a joke.
03:20And that contest between him and Mitchell Johnson was one of the most memorable things in his Test career. It was a wonderful thing to watch.
03:29Let me get back to Anees. Virat Kohli is certainly the best batsman going around although there are other claimants like Joe Root, Kane Williamson and of late, Babar Assam.
03:44So where do you think Kohli stands among the top four? Is he the best?
03:52I will be very honest Shyam. I am glad you asked me this question. When you compare him to the likes of Steve Smith, Joe Root, Babar Assam of late or Kane Williamson, he definitely, for me, he is right on top.
04:09Not because I am an Indian and I am talking in his favour. But the way Virat Kohli has played and taken Test level to a different, absolutely different aura. His style of aggressive cricket, style of batting and the temperament that Virat Kohli has and the fitness due respect to Steve Smith, Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Babar Assam.
04:34I believe he is way, way, way ahead and I believe in spite of the lull for his standards where he is not able to get his 71st 100 or 28th Test 100 for a long time. I think it is due, finally due and I believe come 5th March if India bat first or whether India bat second, the 100 Test match is there for the offering.
04:59It is a good thought to have. Satish, again let me hark back to the early days or the best period of Virat Kohli when he was often compared to Sachin Tendulkar. When you compare him with Sachin Tendulkar, where does he stand? Is he on par, is he just below or is he better than him?
05:20Sharma, one thing I would like to say, it is very difficult to compare players of two generations because the quality of bowling and many things that comes into play. But certainly in this generation, Sachin played, there were again, claimants like Lara, Steve Waugh, you have many players like Sachin were also there.
05:43But again, the bowling was also a different league at that point of time. But what Kohli stood out between Sachin and Kohli, if I have to say one difference, that should be the attitude. Whereas Sachin had nothing short of what Kohli had in terms of the spirit or the fighting spirit, you can call it.
06:03But still, those two centuries in Sharjah says a lot. But still, what Kohli did was, he wore it on his sleeve and ensured that it is passed on to others and it became infectious. So that it is not just him alone who is playing that aggressive brand of cricket. Even the others followed him too.
06:26So I would say, that's the big difference Kohli has done in terms of other than Sachin. And again, as a captain, Sachin has failed. But as a captain, Kohli has prospered, not even survived. He prospered and started producing better results. So these are the two significant differences I would see between them. In terms of technique, both have almost same. They could play any attack, any wicket. They all had everything. But this is what I would say the difference between these two.
06:56Sahil, I have a completely different take here on Virat Kohli, the competitive cricketer. He is perhaps the most aggressive cricketer we had. So how do you see that aggression? Is it over the top? Is it just right? How do you look at it?
07:18Good question. It depends, you know. It depends. But this is how a captain has to be. He's got to lead from the front. He's got to push his players. If he's not going to be aggressive and he's just going to stand in the side and be lethargic, that's not going to happen. He's got to be aggressive. And he was a great captain in Tesco. And it's a 90-over format. And he's always there from the 1st over till the 90th. He's always charged up and he's pushing his players and being aggressive.
07:42So I think it's a perfect thing for him. And it suits his character. And he's done his job as a captain. Now he's just a free bird who's going to be in the starting XI. And he has nothing to lose now.
07:54Aditya, I will put the same question to you. Simply because Virat Kohli, despite being one of the best in the world, or perhaps the best batsman in the world, he's a divisive character when it comes to fans. Some people like his aggression. Some people don't like his aggression. What do you think about him as a competitor? As a theory competitor?
08:16It's all about how you look at it. Being an Indian, I probably would like it more. Not that all Indians like his aggressiveness. But the reason why, like Sahil mentioned a very valid point in Test cricket, to maintain that intensity for 90 overs is not easy. And he maintains it for all 5 days. Whether he's batting, whether he's fielding. Obviously, he doesn't bowl in Test cricket. But that intensity rubs on all the players.
08:40So, when you have that aggressiveness and when you are into the face of the opposition, it gives the other players the comfort that we have a captain who's leading from the front and is backing us to the court. And that is why I like him as a captain who's aggressive.
08:55Now, like we mentioned about KL Rahul. I'm just giving an example of KL Rahul because when KL Rahul captained India in his absence in the second Test match, we saw that the match was in our grasp. But not because of KL Rahul, we lost. But how the players were quiet in the shell, there was no energy. It felt like they had gone to sleep.
09:16So, that's what I'm trying to bring it to my notice of all our listeners. That when Virat Kohli captains, things tend to happen. As they say that Virat Kohli is the captain, not only does his batting does the talking, but his captainship does the talking. And that is why he's the best ever captain India has produced in the red ball cricket.
09:34Yeah. Even the stats bear that out and we can argue with that argument there. And Satheesh, Virat Kohli has really changed the face of Indian cricket as a captain. He's changed the fitness. Even his approach was aggressive with his five-baller thing. So, how do you rate his captaincy, Satheesh?
09:54I think his captaincy is not just for this current lot, Shyam. Even the years to come, I think that has set a very, very good platform for the future of Indian cricket. Because the Yo-Yo Test or the Time Trial Test, these were not mandatory. I still feel a lot of players would have played for India even now. But he made sure that without fitness, you can't perform at that level.
10:22So, you can't take the excess baggage. They might be supremely talented cricketers. But unless you have that fitness to carry the entire day, as Syed says, 90 overs is not easy. And then to carry that intensity, you need a lot of fitness. So, I think the biggest service that Kohli has done is, I would say, to believe in their own skills.
10:45That self-belief is a motivator. Rather, he has created a culture where everybody believes in their skills. And then second is the fitness, which should help the entire future of Indian cricket, basically.
11:01Sahil, I'll quickly come back to… Satish is having some lighting issues there. So, I'll quickly come to Sahil here. Sahil, the biggest talking point of late has been Kohli's slump in form. I have always held that it is not a slump in form. It's simply that Kohli is not performing to Kohli's standards. But as a test cricketer, he still holds his own.
11:27How do you look at his slump in form? Because he has not had a century for nearly 2 years.
11:32Yes, we can all say that he has not had a century in 2 years. But no, I think the guy is fine. There is no slump in form. He does… Yes, that 100 mark, he is not able to reach.
11:44Unfortunately, since the 2019 World Cup, which happened in England, he has not got that century. Still now, it's from there. But you always see, he does those… It's in pieces. He does that 60s and 70s. There is no one else to help him sometimes. And I think the guy will be fine.
12:00And like mentioned, I think in the series against Sri Lanka, that century might come. Hopefully, you never know. But there is no slump in form.
12:07And he certainly thinks so. And he is 100% sure. I have been saying that for the last 6 months. He finally does it.
12:18Now he will be only playing as a batter. So it will come in very soon. And yeah, as Sahil said, he has not lived up to his own standards that he was putting up before.
12:33Again, Vishal, we have to take into consideration a lot of other things. Sorry to interrupt and take it forward. But the fact remains that the bowler is also watching him. There is a lot of replays and many plans are made.
12:47And they look at his weaknesses, they look at his strengths. There is a lot of analysis that goes into bowling to a particular batsman. They must have done it in the test.
12:57I think once Anderson did that, the next series he went back and got some centuries. So that shows how great this batsman is who can come back with a counter-plan when you attack him on the weaknesses.
13:11This is one. And second, he is also getting older, Shyam. We need to take that into consideration.
13:16No, I will agree with your first part of it. Second part, I won't. Because see, he is being a fitness freak. I don't think age is not a problem here. But his technique, I don't think there is any batsman in the current set-up who looks at his own batting so well.
13:31So which is why I will agree with that part.
13:33Yeah, I think Shyam is having some connectivity issues. What do you think, Anirudh?
13:45Sorry Shyam, your connectivity went off. Okay, go ahead Shyam. Go back.
13:52Yeah, so he's certainly been getting the runs. He's just not been getting the hundreds. If there's a 70s, 80s, that 50s has been coming. And I tend to agree with Anirudh also here that the century where he's been waiting for six months comes.
14:07I think it's more of a mental block really. And once he passes that, I think his runs will flow more freely.
14:15So now, back to my role as a moderator here. Anirudh, what do you think of Kohli's future? Because of late, he's not been in a best place mentally too. Because he quit as captain and he's had this spat with Ganguly.
14:32And we see he's not been kind to him. And we hear all sorts of reports in the media and the grapevine. So where does Kohli go from here?
14:43Honestly, Shyam, the best way for him is to silence his critics or his detractors with his bat. And that is by scoring heaps and heaps of runs.
14:53At the moment, of course, as you said, he's not in his right mental space. And he's probably more anxious when it comes to bat and tries to go for shots far too early than he used to be in test matches.
15:04Even in ODIs, which we saw against the West Indies, that he was trying to be too flashy. Maybe the anxiousness is getting the better of him. But he gets into that mental space where he has control over his mind.
15:14And if his batting does the talking, all things will fall in place. And all these detractors will come up to him and say, Mr. Kohli, we want you to be captain.
15:22Yes, we are all talking about Rohit Sharma. He's so far done well in the white ball series against Sri Lanka, against West Indies. All looks rosy.
15:31But mind you, when the test cricket comes and when it comes abroad, that is why we will see the temperament of Rohit Sharma. I have nothing against Rohit Sharma.
15:38But when you talk about red ball cricket, I dare say we will find it very difficult to find a captain like Virat Kohli.
15:45And like I am repeating, if he wants to keep everybody quiet, let his batting do the talking.
15:52I hope that Heaps By Bat will start talking from the Sri Lankan series onwards and that's something which we will look forward to.
15:59Thanks everybody for joining us and it's been a pleasure talking to you all.
16:03And for more breaking news and updates, please log on to gulfnews.com and our social media channels. Thank you so much.