A champion like Virat Kohli accepts pressure and rises in its presence. They know how to shut out noise and when to be energized by it.
Samvit Baru
Rahul Dravid, whose press conferences in the run-up to the World Cup contain equal parts humor (often self-deprecating) and wisdom, was asked about the inconvenience of India’s grueling travel schedule during the tournament.
In fact, no other team logs more air miles, goes through more airport routines and plays in more venues during this tournament. Their World Cup began with a 2,500km journey from Guwahati to Thiruvananthapuram, a route so narrow that there are no direct commercial flights. Without the two warm-up games in these cities, all that travel would be wasted practice.
As each league match was held at a different venue than the previous one, the distance traveled was approximately 13,000km, approximately 3,000km more than second place England. In contrast, Pakistan will only cover around 7,000km as they will play their warm-up and first two matches of the tournament in Hyderabad.
Of course, this is not the only complication during India’s home World Cup. As the Class of 2011 warns, the chatter is relentless. From airport lounges to in-room dining, players can’t escape their brethren who demand to win trophies. From his 24-hour newsroom to his myriad social media handles, there is a constant stream of opinions and advice. Unlike in 2011, when the team carefully avoided various forms of external wrath, including newspapers, websites, and news channels, in 2023 doing so will be a hopeless task, with mobile phones like monks. You are asked to refrain.
And what an absolute threat the demand for tickets is. Each team member is assigned three per game, but hundreds of acquaintances are begging for more than one. Virat Kohli, who must have received more such requests than anyone else, took this opportunity to post on social media: “Don’t ask for tickets, just enjoy the World Cup from home.” Another player put the status on his WhatsApp profile as “No tickets available, please.” Others avoid calls from the usual suspects.
Sachin Tendulkar waited almost 20 years to become a World Cup winner. Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan will have the opportunity to do so in front of the nation in his first opportunity.
But it only took a few minutes for Dravid to get the big picture. He was answering in Hindi so I’ll paraphrase. What a problem, he said. On the contrary, what an exciting opportunity it is for fans to have the opportunity to see their favorite players at various locations, from airports to stadiums. We are playing the World Cup at home in front of our people. What could be bigger than that? What could be more exciting than this?
He should know. Despite his long and brilliant career, he never got that opportunity. So were several others from that golden generation, including Sourav Ganguly. VVS Laxman was never able to play in a World Cup and carried that scar for years. Only Virat Kohli and R Ashwin from the current team know what it’s like to play a World Cup at home. Rohit Sharma, who calls this World Cup the biggest event of his career, knows how miserable it is to miss out. He narrowly lost in 2011.
So what a blessing it is for the players making their World Cup debut for their country. Sachin Tendulkar waited almost 20 years to become a World Cup winner. Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan got the opportunity to appear in front of the nation for the first time. Of course there will be pressure. But with expectations comes pressure. And expectations are only placed on the champion.
As Billie Jean King said, pressure is a privilege.
King, who won 39 tennis Grand Slam titles, made headlines in 1973 after accepting a nasty challenge from Bobby Riggs, a former Wimbledon champion who had repeatedly preyed on female tennis players. Won the battle of the sexes. Riggs was 55 years old and 26 years older than King when the match took place, but earlier that year she defeated Margaret Court, another Grand Slam winner and then No. 1 in the rankings, in straight sets. It was broken. The winner-take-all prize for the King vs. Riggs match was $100,000, a large sum at the time. But there were more problems. Dr. King was also trying to raise his standing with liberals and feminists who were appalled by Riggs’s statement, which included the gem, “A woman’s place is in the bedroom and then in the kitchen.”
No other Indian player feels the pressure more closely than Tendulkar, and I once had the opportunity to talk to him about the burden. What was it like to step up to the plate knowing 50 points wasn’t enough when you were expected to score 100? His reaction was similar to King’s. “I’ve never felt like it’s a burden. I’d rather people and my teammates have expectations than nothing,” he said. It’s an honor. I’m lucky to be in that place. It shows people care. ”
Kolhi has not only followed Tendulkar’s path in run-scoring, but also the universality of his mass appeal. Standing at the Chidambaram Stadium in Massachusetts for India’s World Cup opener was to be exposed to the full power of Kohlimania. His mere existence on the borderline was shocking. Wherever he went on the field, there was an instant spontaneous cheer and chanting of his name, which compared to the announcers’ constant, caustic attempts to modulate the crowd’s reaction during the game. It highlighted its authenticity. public address system.
When the time came, Kohli gave something back in kind. First, they absorbed Australia’s blow and reduced India to 3-2, a score that no team chasing in the ODIs could beat. And slowly, inexorably, he won. Away match.
That’s what champions do. They accept pressure and rise in its presence. They know how to shut out noise and when to be energized by noise. They know how to ride the waves of emotion and how not to get carried away by it. They also accept failure as inevitable and know how to forget about it, like playing the game after the last ball has been thrown. Kohli played in and missed, chopped the ball over the stumps and was dropped at number 12. He remained unfazed and gave his all.
He was lucky enough to know what it was like to win a World Cup at home in his first World Cup. He now has a chance for an encore in what could be his last World Cup. And having missed that chance, what would Rohit be willing to sacrifice to go for it? The World Cup comes to him once in his four years. For many people, their home World Cup is only once in their career. This is your chance to create memories that will last a lifetime.
pressure? Who won the World Cup without embracing it?
Sambit Bal is the Editor-in-Chief of ESPNcricinfo @sambitbal