The dictionary definition of a machine is ‘a piece of equipment with moving parts that is designed to do a particular job. It usually needs electricity, gas, steam etc. in order to work.’
Sometimes conveniently, mostly lazily and almost out of compulsion, we have tended to label Virat Kohli as a run-machine. How much further from the truth can we be?
Does Kohli need electricity or gas or steam? Really? Is he a lifeless, inanimate piece of equipment designed to do a particular job?
Virat Kohli is the living embodiment of passion. Of commitment and drive and desire, of the need to keep pushing the boundaries, to be the best version of himself day after day. He is his best judge and his worst critic. Yes, because he is as human as the rest of us, he is also affected by criticism, by censure, by what he and others of his ilk often refer to as ‘outside noise’. But in his heart of hearts, he is governed by what he thinks of himself, how he rates himself. ‘Outside noise’, be it approbation or otherwise, will affect his psyche, but not as much as his own reading of whether he is living up to the lofty standards he has set for himself over the last 17 years as an international cricketer.
Watching Kohli bat in the last six weeks or so, few would guess that he is retired internationally from two of the three formats. That, in a lot of ways, he is a part-time cricketer – no disrespect meant. In his last three outings in 50-over cricket, the only format in which he represents the country these days, he has made an unbeaten half-century and two blazing hundreds. On Wednesday when he brought up a 53rd ton, off a mere 90 deliveries without seemingly hitting a shot in anger, it marked a staggering 11th time he had smashed ODI centuries in successive innings.
Kohli is at that stage of his career where every run, forget about every three-figure knock, he conjures is a milestone of sorts, an extension of his own record. Before the three-match series against South Africa, he already boasted the most three-figure knocks in the history of the One-Day game, a massive 51. Kohli had gone past the great Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 centuries during India’s stirring charge to the final of the 50-over home World Cup two years back. In Dubai against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy league fixture in February, he drew abreast of Tendulkar for the most international centuries (51) in a single format. Now, after ODI hundred Nos. 52 and 53 on Sunday and Wednesday respectively, he has pulled further away from the rest; with 84 centuries across the three formats, he has only Tendulkar (100) ahead of him in the overall hundred-hitting stakes. It’s more than likely, given he only plays one format and 50-over matches don’t come along as frequently as the other two versions, that he will end up behind Tendulkar whenever he hangs up his boots, but that’s unlikely to occupy his mind space one bit.
A roller-coaster ride
It’s been a turbulent, tumultuous last 12 months for the 37-year-old from Delhi. An unbeaten second-innings century in a winning cause in Perth last November hinted at Kohli rekindling his romance with Australia, but his series unravelled spectacularly thereafter as an old failing — his vulnerability to balls in the corridor to which his bat appeared magnetically attracted — came back to haunt him. Kohli was out caught behind the wickets, either by the wicketkeeper or in the slip cordon, all eight times in Australia; if he was 31 rather than 36, he might have knuckled down to iron out that crease, like he had done after the England tour of 2014 when 10 Test innings brought him only 134 runs. But the passage of time and the changing of guard at the top of the Indian management tree, with Gautam Gambhir coming in as head coach to replace Rahul Dravid, potentially drove Kohli to retirement from Tests in May.
No one knew when he was pouched at second slip for six by Steve Smith pushing away from his body off the back foot against Scott Boland at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 4 that it would be Kohli’s last Test innings. Perhaps Kohli himself wasn’t sure at the time, and there appeared no indication of what was going through his mind when he played two stunning hands in the Champions Trophy, following up his 100 not out against Pakistan with a pivotal 84 in the successful semifinal chase against old nemesis Australia. His travails Down Under seemed behind him and he seemed to be enjoying being in the middle as much as he always had, which was why it came as a massive surprise when he walked away into the Test sunset a week after his old pal Rohit Sharma had pulled the plug on his five-day career.
Ro-Ko a package deal
Kohli and Rohit’s cricketing journeys have run parallel for 17 years now. Rohit was the first to debut, in June 2007 in Ireland on a limited-overs sojourn; it wasn’t until 14 months later that Kohli earned his first India cap, in an ODI series in Sri Lanka. Kohli went on to carve a magnificent path in Test cricket, especially during a golden period from the end of 2014 to the end of 2019, while Rohit established himself as arguably the greatest limited-overs batter of all time, backed up by an unmatched three double hundreds in ODIs and five international centurions in the 20-over iteration.
Both of them called it quits from the 20-over game at the highest level following India’s title charge in Bridgetown in June last year. There was, therefore, a certain added poignancy to them retiring from Test cricket within a week of each other, leaving them to fly the flag only in the 50-over game where both are behemoths bar none.
In ways unimaginable even a couple of years back, they are now inextricably intertwined, almost one soul in two bodies. They have been made a package deal by their fans; Kohli is a touch ahead in the popularity stakes but Rohit is well-liked and respected, as much for moulding the next generation of superstars as his propensity to lead from the front and set the example that others have striven to emulate.
When they were picked for a three-match series in Australia in October, there was massive interest. Were they in the plans for the 2027 50-over World Cup? Oh, never mind if it is two years away. Are they on notice? On probation? Will they be judged on every failure while every success is taken for granted?
It certainly appeared so, more for Kohli than Rohit, when he failed to trouble the scorers in the first two games in Australia, in Perth and then Adelaide. The whispers were beginning to pick up momentum when he produced a sublime unbeaten 74, playing second fiddle to centurion Rohit in another of their three-figure alliances (20 at the last count).
In the last week, it has looked as if Kohli hasn’t been away at all. The two failures in Australia were not due to lack of preparation, but no amount of work in the nets can compensate for actual match-play. The Perth game on October 19 was Kohli’s first competitive hit since the final of the IPL 2025 on June 3. Even the most gifted, intense and unyielding competitor can’t buck such odds.
Better off for the time spent in the crease in Sydney, Kohli has been an unstoppable force against the South Africans. In Ranchi and then Raipur, he entertained and enthralled; in the first game, he put on a six-hitting exhibition, smashing seven of them on his way to a 120-ball 135. In Raipur on Wednesday, vintage Kohli was back in business. His hundred came off a mere 90 deliveries, yet this was no boundary-laden blitzkrieg. Seven fours and two sixes meant nine deliveries brought him 40 runs; the other 60 still came off just 81 balls and were eked out through excellent running between the wickets.
Kohli has always been both a terrific judge of a run and outstanding between the sticks. The tempestuous, excitable version would expect others to keep pace with him which, unless one was Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was well nigh impossible. As he matured, Kohli began to run at his partners’ pace. He now finds himself in a team where apart from Rohit, everyone else is younger, several considerably so. Yet, it can be said with complete confidence that Kohli will outpace every single one of them comfortably.
After Saturday’s final ODI against Temba Bavuma’s side in Visakhapatnam, India will play three 50-over games against New Zealand at home in the middle of January. In that gap, Kohli will play for Delhi in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy while India and South Africa fine-tune their preparations for the T20 World Cup with a five-match shortest-format showdown.
After the Kiwi ODIs, the focus will shift to 20-over cricket in the form of the World Cup, to be followed by Season 19 of the IPL. Kohli will watch the former on television and hope to help his side, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, mount a successful title defence in the latter. He will, therefore, be game-ready when the team travels to England, where he now resides on a semi-permanent basis, in mid-July for three 50-over outings.
Who knows what after that. You don’t need to know Kohli intimately to figure out that he won’t overstay his welcome. If he feels the fire is dimming, the intensity is fading and the desire drops even a touch, he will instantly pull the plug on his career. Whether that is in 2026, 2027 or beyond shouldn’t really be our concern. All we can do is enjoy the Kohli magic, celebrate a generational genius and not get caught up in the ‘outside noise’ that we ourselves are generating.
And yes, can we also please stop referring to him as a run-machine?
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