Not batting, a throw from the ropes first set Virat Kohli apart

Coach Rajkumar Sharma recounts Virat Kohli's early days and takes us through their journey on the occasion of his ward's 100th Test

May 30, 1998. Rajkumar Sharma recalls the first time he met Virat Kohli in a flash. It was a big day for Sharma, a former first-class cricketer–it saw the inauguration of his baby, the West Delhi Cricket Academy. A nine-year-old Kohli was one of the first to arrive to enroll, accompanied by his father and his elder brother in the sweltering heat.

Sharma says neither him nor Kohli has ever been spurred by personal landmarks. (BCCI)

That he will become the 12th Indian cricketer to play 100 Tests when India face Sri Lanka from March 4-8 in Mohali couldn’t have been imagined then–Sharma calls the forthcoming landmark the proudest moment of his life–but a spark was all too apparent even in Kohli’s adolescence.

"We registered around 250 boys on the first day of the academy. Woh shararati tha (He was naughty)," Sharma, 56, said. "But he was a gifted player. In a few days I could see that he was better than others of his age group and some seniors also.”

But it was not Kohli's batting that first drew Sharma's attention–it was a flat throw from the boundary line that belied his size and age.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Sharma said with a chuckle. “The amount of power he was generating in his batting was also exceptional. He used to insist that he wanted to play among the seniors. He would say that playing with kids his age was not as enjoyable.”

Even at that age, the cover drive and the wristy flick–entrenched as his trademarks now–were his go-to strokes, although the latter didn’t always pass muster with Sharma.

“He played the cover drive very well right from the beginning. Usko sabse zyaada daant padi hai flick shot ki wajah se (he has been scolded the most for playing the flick shot). I used to feel scared of him getting out with that shot when the ball swung away. It would get him out sometimes. I used to insist that he should play more towards mid-on rather than square leg,” said Sharma.

But Kohli’s single-mindedness came into the equation. “With his work ethic, he developed it into his bread and butter shot. If you bowl at the legs now, he will invariably hit a boundary.”

From Wankhede in Mumbai to Wanderers in Johannesburg, we have seen him wield these shots with great command while constructing some classics. What is Sharma’s most favourite innings?

“I remember his hundred (against Australia) in Adelaide (in 2012),” said Sharma, going back to Kohli’s very first Test hundred on the 2011-12 tour of Australia that India lost 0-4. “I rate it as one of his very best innings. He hadn’t got runs in the first two Tests of that series. There was a feeling that he may get dropped.”

The century was followed by a wild celebration that we were still getting accustomed to back then–leaping in the air and fist-pumping before bellowing an expletive or two. The image of a charged-up Kohli swearing and snarling has of course become routine since, but Sharma insists the 33-year-old is a very different man off the field.

“I got Covid during the second wave last year when Virat was in England. There were no beds in Delhi. He made sure from England that I got a room in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital,” said Sharma. “He was concerned every day about how I was feeling. People think he is brash and arrogant. He is not that. He is a peace-loving guy. Being a celebrity, a lot of people follow him and chase him. At times, he wants peace for himself.”

It’s only Kohli's recent run without a century – his last ton was in November 2019 – that has thrown a spanner in the works. In Tests, the channel outside off-stump has been targeted to lure Kohli into false drives. It notably troubled him on the 2014 tour of England too, but he quickly found a way out of it back then.

If he can get that monkey off his back in Mohali, he will become only the 10th player and the first Indian to score a hundred in his 100th Test. However, Sharma says neither him nor Kohli has ever been spurred by personal landmarks.

“I don’t have a wish list for him. I just want him to be remembered as one of the best players India has ever produced."