Thread by @CricRicky

"Shaam tak Khelenge toh inki g*nd fat jayegi" (Literal Translation: If we play till evening, their a*s will explode), said Virat Kohli to his batting partner during the Centurion Test '18. Unfortunately India lost the match but only to bounce back with a thumping win in next test

Those words teleported me directly to the 2011 WC game vs Bangladesh, and they say that time travel doesn’t exist, hello? A 23 years old Kohli was responding to intimidatory tactics of Rubel Hossain with choicest expletives asserting that he is not here to be taken for a ride

Kohli went on to score a fine 100* in that match. For someone who grew up watching the Great Australian side intimidating the opponent (and even audiences), not just with Bat and Ball, but also with their sheer presence, Kohli seemed to me like a god sent package for our team

As Kohli hit a 6 over Shakib’s head, I said to my friend who was also standing with me outside the TV showroom watching the match, that this guy will be the next captain of our team. He laughed and just said, “la*da mera” indicating that even his private parts had higher chances

Around one thousand days later, far away in Australia, not only did he become the only 2nd player to hit 💯 in both innings on his captaincy debut, but also he displayed highly visible imprints of his leadership in the way the team aggressively tried to chase a huge target of 364

He was already the best batter in the world at that point of time, but the years that followed casted him in a mould true to his name. His bat did a lot of talking against every country & opponent, in all the formats & situations, transforming him from Kohli to “Virat”.

Not only did he transform himself, but we saw the team transforming with him. Virat coming down the staircase with multiple freakishingly fit dudes behind him would many times appear to me as if King Leonidas is marching on with his spartans to take on Xerxes.

Just like how a passionate lover would go to any stretch for their loved one, Virat gave up his business class seat for one of his pacers after they won the Adelaide test of 18. Anyone who has seen him investing in the growth of pacers wouldn't take this to be a stretched analogy

Performance levels of the team took a new high with the team claiming Numero Uno status in Tests for 5 years in succession, becoming the best touring team, best home team, winning test series in Australia and England*, winning T20i series all over the world, etc.

The hard grinding athlete, forever passionate cricketer, run machine, ever inspiring leader, Virat is now almost 7 years into Tests captaincy and 5 years into his White ball captaincy but “you can't have it all”, says god while not letting him lay hands over elusive silverware.

It’s Nov 2021, India is almost out of the Virat’s last tournament as T20 Captain. In a few days we will have the 2nd anniversary of the last 100 he scored. His bat is not talking as loudly as it used to do. Somehow all of this takes me back to Centurion. Time travel again, hi!

India were already two down for 28 when Virat arrived, and then along with Murli Vijay he took the team safely to 80/2 by the tea time and that’s when he said “Shaam tak khelenge toh inki g*nd phat jayegi” (Poetic Translation: If you grind hard, they will yield you a yard).

Not that things changed dramatically after that. India ended up giving lead to South Africa and eventually lost the match also, despite Virat scoring a stellar 100, but India fought. It’s true that victories are always nice but sometimes the struggles provide strength too.

He may no longer be the Captain of the T20 team, he may not be scoring 💯 for fun currently, but Virat’s 33rd Birthday is just a tea time in the wonderful innings that his career is. He may be down, but only to take a sip of tea and start a new session from ball 1 again.

Just like how we didn’t Centurion, probably the next session of @imVkohli’s career will not swing upwards right away. But remember, every grind at Centurion is followed by Glory at Johannesburg, a triumph at the Bull-ring.

#HappyBirthdayViratKohli, shaam tak khelna hai bhai 😊❤️