Sydney: Former India coach Greg Chappell has called Virat Kohli the ‘most Australian non-Australian’ cricketer of all time and thanked the sport’s ‘most important figure for championing the cause of the Test format with his all-out aggression’.
Kohli is arguably one of the most aggressive players on the field. His aggressive intent on the field had become famous when he was first handed the Test captaincy during India’s tour Down Under in the 2014/15 season.
Since then, his performance graph has gone up and become the first Indian captain to win a Test series in Australia in 2018-19., “Many previous Indian cricket teams tended to play with undue deference to their opponents, as if in accord with the Gandhian principle. Sourav Ganguly was the first Indian captain to try to change that approach. It worked to a degree in India, but usually hit a hurdle overseas,” Chappell wrote in ‘Sydney Morning Herald’.
“Virat Kohli does not believe in passive resistance. He is a proponent of all-out aggression. His idea is to dominate the opposition. Kohli is the most Australian non-Australian cricketer of all time. He embodies the new India. As the premier player and captain of the world’s pre-eminent cricket power, he feels an abiding responsibility to the wider game.” he added.
“The fact that Kohli champions Test cricket is a huge plus for a format under pressure for time and space in a crowded schedule,” Chappell said. “Test cricket has always been the pinnacle for him and it has driven him to be fitter and stronger to cope with its demands. It is why he drives his team in these areas because he wants India to be respected in the most demanding format. If the captain of India is ambivalent towards Test cricket, some administrators would be happy for it to slide into ignominy, as they are seduced by the newer, shinier models,” he further added.
On Kohli’s standing in world cricket, Chappell said the batting maestro is aware of that but not obsessed with it. “Winning games for India is way more important to him and he sees it as his prime objective…he is aware of his status in the game and how he can impact others.
Chappell also said that Kohli’s absence from the remainder of the series is a ‘shame.’ “Kohli, though, is the most important one in the context of world cricket. Kohli is tremendously influential. He is also under the most pressure. It cannot be underestimated how hard it must be to go out to bat with the hopes, aspirations and mood of a billion people, riding on your every performance,” he wrote.
“While entirely understandable, it is a shame for this contest that Kohli will go home for the birth of his first child after the Adelaide Test, Kohli is an intensely driven man. He will want his team to reiterate their supremacy, and I expect something exceptional from him before he goes,” he wrote.
