Last throw of the dice for Virat Kohli?

The King is dead Long live the King Whilst that might have been the case in 1461 when Charles VII ended his innings it takes a brave pundit to write off Virat Kohli just yet In fact any philosopher renowned for his wisdom would probably remind us that there is an old saying that goes something like champions being like seedsmdashthey gain strength when you bury themWas Kohlirsquos innings at Trent Bridge in the third T20 on Sunday the last throw of the dice of a drowning man or the first signs of genius being almost reincarnated Unless you are privy to the innersanctum of the Indian thinktank it is hard to know what Kohli was told or guessed for himself in terms of the selectorsrsquo plans for the T20 World Cup later this year in AustraliaGreat Aussie recordIt might have been as generous as reminding him that Indian cricket has a long memory that owes Kohli a debt albeit with a useby date Or it could have been a brutal reminder that the future waits for no man even if there were times when he dined in heavenAs much as I am saddened by Kohlirsquos increasingly erratic behaviour it hasnrsquot yet sullied the indelible mark that his reign will leave on those of us who love the artistry of batting as much as the modernday brutality that belongs to the new princesinwaiting the likes of Suryakumar Yadav Rishabh Pant Ishan Kishan and Deepak HoodaHis record in Australia must surely count for something where being able to hold your shape and drive on the up will be as important as being able to play the swivel pull The pitches in Australia in October will be fresh and lively almost two months before the Big Bash usually kicks off so it may not quite be the flat batting tracks that we are accustomed to in late summer For that reason alone India may have to think carefully about whether to load up with genuine batsmen like Kohli Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer to counter the likes of Josh Hazlewood Kagiso Rabada and Pat CumminsAs tempting as it may be to fill your team with bash merchants the pitches at that time of year especially after an incredibly wet winter will require some circumspection and a more conventional Powerplay approach than what statisticians might glean from merely looking at Big Bash numbers The general consensus in Australia is that if you lose twoplus wickets in the Powerplay especially in the spring October November there are no guarantees that you can cash in heavily at the death because the pitches will still offer the quicks some sideways movement with a newish ball under lights Horses for courseshellipKohli may still have a crucial role to play in scoring runs with a straight bat technique even though he may lack the raw savagery of flat track bulliesIndiarsquos IPL ironyWhatrsquos even more fascinating is to see the legacy that the IPL has gifted to everyone but India Since the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa which India paid scant attention to until their young guns suddenly turned the game upside down by winning the damn trophy two things are notableFirstly in response to that triumph the sleeping giant of T20 franchise cricket was awakened and the IPL was born The IPL and the other progeny that it has spawned will go on to become the single biggest change agent in cricket when historians look back on a game that is unrecognisable from its lsquonoveltyrsquo baby stage But in all that time what began as Indiarsquos gift to themselves has increasingly become a treasure they have unwittingly bequeathed to the rest of the world India have not won a T20 World Cup since 2007 despite arguably being the most consistent performers in between World Cup cyclesAlso Read ENG vs IND 1st ODI preview India will look to bring aggressive approach from T20Is to ODIsThe IPL not only encouraged every other country to develop their own T20 skills nurseries but the winds of fortune blew every other trading vessel to Indiarsquos shores not only making millionaires of foreign mercenaries but also giving them the skills and exposure to playing against the very best of their peers Furthermore it has partially demystified the mystique of playing on Asian pitches against mystery spinners nullifying one of Indiarsquos key weapons In fairness it has also made Indian batsmen much more comfortable in taking on the short ball and their fast bowlers are amongst the best in the world so the IPL could easily be referred to as Intellectual Property LoansTest cricket at its bestThe great irony is that during this period Indiarsquos Test cricket has not suffered In fact they are consistently among the best Test cricketers in the world at a time when everyone feared that the obsession with the T20 format would kill techniques Pantrsquos thrilling hundreds at the Gabba and Edgbaston are just two examples of the David Warner Syndromemdashinitially made for T20rsquos but going on to become a solid Test cricketer Enter the world of the gourmet burger made for takeaway but now alacarte fare for the discerning And thatrsquos why I still hope India wonrsquot throw Kohli out with the bathwater because as the famous author from the land I love the most Zimbabwe said ldquoA champion is one who is remembered A legend is one who is never forgottenrdquo ndash Matshona DhliwayoMichael Jeh is a Brisbanebased former firstclass cricketer