Saturday, 05 Oct, 2024
There was a time a few years ago when cricket aficionados reckoned that Kohli might break the records set up Sachin Tendulkar
Hard data is brutal; it is merciless and it is unforgiving. Data exposes reality that no amount of spin can hide. It was on display in politics when the Lok Sabha tally of Congress under Rahul Gandhi dropped from 206 to 44 in 2014 and 52 in 2019. It was on display in economics when GDP growth rate in the first term of Narendra Modi dropped from 8% plus to just about 5% towards the end of his term. Sports is no different. In recent times, data has been cruelly exposing the downfall of Virat Kohli as a test batsman. There was a time a few years ago when cricket aficionados reckoned that Kohli might break the records set up Sachin Tendulkar. Today, people are debating if he deserves a place in the Indian test team.
The first chart shows the downfall. Virat Kohli was on song in 2016 and 2017. His test batting average in the two years were a staggering 75.94 and 75.64 respectively. It seemed he could conjure up centuries at will and effortlessly demoralise and destroy opposition bowlers. The average dipped a bit in 2018 (still incredibly high at about 55) before recovering again to 68 in 2019. That was when his decline started and it now looks terminal. He averaged a pathetic 19.33 in 2020 and has managed to reach 31 in the current year. In the same period, his three other contemporary greats Joe Root, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson have taken test batting to new heights; with Joe Root in particular smashing records at will. Compared to them, Kohli looks like a pale shadow of his former marauding avatar. Cricket experts have discussed the startling and continuing fall in his batting prowess in gory detail. But the fact remains that data for the last three consecutive years show he has become a mediocre batsman.
The big question that naturally crops up is: Is it time to drop Virat Kohli from the Indian cricket team? Many former cricketers have suggested that he should voluntarily take a “break” before the axe falls. C Voter-India Tracker conducted a survey across India to find out what Indians thought about the idea. He still has a majority backing him to keep his place in the team, but not overwhelmingly. As the second chart shows, overall 48% of the respondents agreed that the time has come to drop Virat Kohli while 52% of them continued to support Kohli. Interestingly, almost 50% of male respondents were in favour of dropping Kohli while 46% of females agreed with them.
The big difference was noticed when looking at responses of different age groups. Two out of five in the 18 to 24 age group wanted him dropped while a massive 2 out of 3 in the age group 55 and above wanted Kohli to be dropped. Perhaps the older generation has seen many Indian cricketing greats being dropped in the past and hence are less emotional about dropping a national hero and icon.
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