Virat Kohli’s achievement as a cricketer is surreal, to say the least. He has taken Indian cricket to greater heights with his batting and captaincy over the years.
Kohli has represented India in 123 Tests, 302 ODIs and 125 T20Is, amassing more than 27000 international runs with 82 centuries. He led India in 213 matches across formats and won 135 of them. His success rate as Indian captain is one of the best in the game’s history.
No wonder, Virat Kohli is considered as one of the finest cricketers of the modern era. Recently, former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar drew a fascinating parallel between Kohli’s fiery on-field persona to Amitabh Bachchan’s legendary “angry young man” roles that defined Bollywood in the 1970s.
Kohli never hesitated to confront opponents and the Indian team adopted an aggressive approach under his leadership, especially in Test cricket.
Bangar explained that Kohli’s fiery demeanour was a genuine reflection of his personality, reminiscent of the intensity and boldness that defined Bachchan’s “angry young man” character.
“Virat Kohli has a natural character, like brash, in your face, and that was his natural character. A natural character always feels right. Why did Amitabh Bachchan's films work in the 1975-1980 era? It was because there was this thought of an angry young man, and in the Indian society, anger was somewhere simmering,” Bangar said on DD Sports.
Bangar stressed that Indian cricket needed a fresh voice to usher in a new era after the retirement of “Fab Four” — Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and Sourav Ganguly.
“Indian cricket needed some aggression because our fabulous four had retired, and Kohli had to take cricket forward, which he did in his own style. He changed India's image completely in how they approach Test cricket,” Bangar added.
Virat Kohli called time on his Test career in May this year, days ahead of the selection of India’s squad for the recently-concluded England tour.
Having retired from T20Is last year, the 36-year-old will now focus solely on the 50-over format. However, his participation in the 2027 ODI World Cup remains a mystery.
