JUST BEFORE the 2008 under-19 World Cup, the national junior selectors, in an inspired move, had decided on a leadership change. They replaced Tanmay Srivastava, a soft spoken Lucknow opener who gracefully carried his city's gentility to the cricket field, with Virat Kohli, a West Delhi boy not known to give undue respect, or an undeserving inch, to rivals. What had then seemed like a minor tweak to the junior team, would prove to be the crucial nudge that gave Indian cricket a complete imagemakeover.
Kohli had you at hello. He oozed class, came across as a born-leader and even his anger was endearing. It was amusing to watch the short, well-fed, chubby-cheeked teenager stand up to the taller, broader and leaner boys from England, Australia, South Africa. This one time at the team hotel, before a crucial game against England, he would bump into a rival bowler, who was allegedly staring at him. Kohli didn't flinch, and of course, he reacted. "Hey, what are you looking at?" he blurted out. The unexpected snub would startle the English boy.
No ingrained inferiority, no language handicap, the new kid on the block wasn't overburdened to be the archetypal, well-mannered Indian cricketer.
At the end of the rain-impacted low scoring tense final against South Africa, Kohli would get hailed as a keeper of lost causes and also get a reputation of volatility. A certain Bradley Barnes should be credited for giving the handful few present at that obscure cricketing venue - Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur - a glimpse of the future.
This story is from the December 25, 2021 edition of The Indian Express.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign in
This story is from the December 25, 2021 edition of The Indian Express.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign in
Suspected drone attack on Abu Dhabi by Yemen rebels kills two Indians
TWO INDIANS were among three people killed in a suspected drone attack carried out by the Iran-backed Houthi militant group on three petroleum tankers in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, on Monday afternoon.
PM: Best time to invest in India, multilateral institutions need reforms
CITING VARIOUS reform measures taken by the Government, such as the removal of retrospective taxation, reduction in compliance requirements and simplification of the corporate tax rate structure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday made a strong pitch for India as an investment destination and said this is “the best time" to invest in the country.
Kapurthala granthi held for murder, there was no sacrilege, say police
FIVE DAYS after the lynching of a youth at a gurdwara in Kapurthala district, police Friday booked the gurdwara granthi, Amarjit Singh, on the charge of murder and arrested him.
Battling backyard demons
Beating South Africa in the away series needs a united front; not a forlorn Virat Kohli dousing home fires
Rahul targets Centre over ‘no farm death records' statement
SENIOR CONGRESS leader Rahul Gandhi Friday hit out at the government for saying it had no data on farmer deaths during their agitation, and accused it of lacking "humanity" and being "arrogant". The Congress leader alleged that around 700 farmers died during their protest in the past year, and that the families of at least 400 were given compensation by the Congress-led Punjab government.
Dry days ahead, mercury set to rise
AFTER TWO days of rain and overcast skies, the city witnessed partly cloudy skies and dry weather on Friday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast dry weather till Tuesday in the state starting Saturday. In the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Friday, the IMD's Santacruz observatory recorded light rain of 4.3 mm in the city.
The Most Interesting Cars at the 1000 Miglia Experience UAE
You Don't See These at Your Typical Timeand-Distance Rally
Aga Szydlik INDIA
A JOURNEY INTO THE LAND OF DIVERSITY, CULTURE, AND COLORS
Magnificent Obsession
In Mumbai, a monumental fashion exhibition charts the crosscurrents of cultural influence.
A Reporter at Large: Second Nature
How rewilders in India are working to reverse environmental destruction.
PATHS HIDDEN IN PLAIN VIEW
If you've ever seen a makeshift dirt path connecting two sidewalks, that's a \"desire path,\" also known as a desire line or game trail.
After Affirmative Action
The Supreme Court is expected to rule racial preferences in college admissions are unconstitutional. How will that change american schools and society?
INCREDIBLE INDIA
FIRST TRIP TO INDIA NEW DELHI
The Holi Festival
The Holi Festival of Colors in India is a celebration of the victory of good over evil, the destruction of the demoness Holika.
The New Asian America
It wasn't always this way. We were not so often the headline. Our elders' safety was not a cause célèbre. We weren't even sure that we were a "we"-can so many people with so little in common say that? Still, there were a few shared things. Cooking ingredients, tropes we were sick of. And when the attacks first started in early 2020, we found we shared another: a terrible feeling of dread.
Gajan Festival India
This photo project is based on the theme "People & Culture" of India.