The Kohli-Tendulkar Debate: Why India does not need another Sachin Tendulkar
The King is dead, long live the King.
It would appear that Virat Kohli’s coronation as Indian Cricket’s batting megastar is complete. A process that began when he overshadowed Sachin Tendulkar during their partnership in an Asia Cup clash against Pakistan in 2012 has come full circle with his innings against Pakistan in the World T20 and his gesture towards Tendulkar upon completing his half century.
Both symbolically and given the context of the game the inference to be drawn was clear; Kohli’s importance to Team India has reached almost Tendulkar-esque levels of importance. However, as masterful as his innings was and as heart-warming his gesture, the last thing Team India needs is another Tendulkar-esque figure.
I believe that Sachin Tendulkar is the single greatest cricketer India has ever produced. His mastery with the bat inspired millions and won India many games. More often than not, he was the race car among tractors, the thoroughbred among mongrels and an apparent God amongst mortals. He was a champion, the one member of the team that was greater than the sum of its parts.
However, Tendulkar won games in spite of the team he played in; not because of it. For every Sharjah there was the heartbreak of Hyderabad in 2009 or Chennai in 1999; the bittersweet innings that could and should have meant so much more. Virat Kohli may have singlehandedly won two games against Pakistan due to his almost Tendulkar-esque ability to transcend the pitch and match situation, but Cricket is a team game.
India cannot afford to become a one person team. However, based on the admittedly small sample size of recent T20 games, India has been a one person team in high pressure situations.
In two high pressure games against Pakistan, India has been dealt savage blows by the Pakistani pace artillery only for Kohli to step up and take India home; with a little bit of help from Yuvraj Singh. Admittedly, even Batman needed Robin, but even Superheroes fall. When Kohli failed against a motivated New Zealand on a tricky pitch, the rest of the batting crumbled like an old cookie.
Where are the others?
India’s recent T20 success cannot be laid entirely at the feet of Kohli. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni have all made valuable contributions along the way. However, in high-pressure situations, Kohli is the only one who has consistently stood up.
It is not quite on the same level as everybody turning off their television sets when Tendulkar was dismissed in the 1990s, but it is a worrying trend. That is not to say that it will ever reach that level of dependence, but it is still a trend that can and should be nipped in the bud.
India’s recent batting has followed a more or less set formula; when the going is good the runs flow while the moment the pitch is tricky or bowling is exceptional they dry up. With the exception of Kohli it is not so much a case of bat hitting ball as much as it is ball hitting bat.
Even more disheartening has been the fact that with the exception of Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, no batsman seems to put a price on his wicket and attempt to ride out the storm. T20 may be a condensed form of Cricket, but the holy trinity of batting values of putting a price on your wicket, grinding through tough spells and proper shot selection are still the keys to success.