Gerrard & Kohli — An uncanny resemblance
Preface:
I have always been fascinated by two sports in my life, Cricket and Football (or Soccer as they call it). I started watching cricket as young as three years old, and followed all the 10 odd international teams which played the sport seriously. Sachin Tendulkar, or The God of Cricket, which they call him in India, was the main reason to keep on following the sport. However, in 2013, after playing cricket for over two decades, Sachin called it a day, and that is when my interest in cricket began to fade as well. Post 2013, the number of matches I watched live decreased substantially. In spite of additional club cricket being introduced around the world, I did not see a valid reason to get hooked. On the contrary, football for me was not really a passion. I used to call myself a Manchester United follower, mainly because of Cristiano Ronaldo and all my peers supporting it. I did not watch substantial number of matches nor did I know which teams were good and which were terrible. Come 2014, the year I started to take a keen interest in football.
It was the night of 2013–14 UEFA Champions League and I happened to watch it live. I knew Real Madrid was a big club (of course because of CR7), but had barely heard of Atletico Madrid. Ninety minutes to the game, and Atletico were leading by a goal to nil. Real Madrid had given up, but then, a certain towering figure, by the name, Sergio Ramos scored a scintillating header to tie the scores, which Real Madrid then comfortably won 4–1, in added extra time. This was the ‘La Decima’, Real Madrid’s tenth European cup, and a cup which came almost after a gap of twelve years. Post that day, I began to follow Real Madrid seriously and pledged allegiance to the club. 2014 to 2019 was the golden period to be a Madrid supporter, the club had won four European cups, and most importantly, three in a row. However, post 2019, the club’s form declined and is still struggling to rise. But, my allegiance to Real Madrid is still strong and will be.
Coming to the point of this article, although my interest and passion for cricket has decreased substantially, there are few players who I still follow. And, one of them is Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli, is the current captain of the Indian Cricket Team and also leads the club, Royal Challengers Bangalore. I find uncanny resemblance in the careers of Virat Kohli and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard. Before you start roasting me and slander me for my lack of football or cricket knowledge, I have a few points to support my claims. Feel free to diss me, I love banter!
(A thing to note in all the comparisons henceforth is that, in football, Club football is given more importance over National Games. On the contrary, cricket gives more preference to international trophies than club cricket)
Glory at a young age
For someone who follows football, it is needless to say where Steven Gerrard played all his career. Except for a retirement stint at the MLS in the USA, Gerrard played for his boyhood club, Liverpool, through ups and downs. Things started of well for Gerrard, as he won the treble with Liverpool in 2001. At the young age of 20, he had already started to create buzz all around the country for his performances.
Coming to Virat Kohli, he started playing cricket for India U-15s and then went on to play several important games for the under 19 teams before his international call-up. Virat Kohli captained India to the U-19 Cricket World Cup glory, with an impressive batting performance. Post this feat, he was rightly picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore, in the inaugural Indian Premier League championship.
Loyalty
From 2002 to 2010, Gerrard could pick club in world football and the club would buy him. Be it Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester United, all the clubs which tasted Premier League Glory, Gerrard chose to stay with the sometimes mediocre Liverpool squad, with all his dedication and loyalty. Although he could have earned much more or won something even bigger, Liverpool was the place he called his home, all his life. Loyalty is something which money cannot buy.
For Virat, Indian Cricket Team has always been a place of victory. He has captained India to many bi-lateral series victories, both in India and overseas. For his club career, Virat has played and then captained Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)for more than a decade, and remains the only player in the league to play for a single team, for such a long time. No other player has stuck with a team for so long. Call it bad omen or just incompetency, RCB has never won the league and have fallen short on several occasions. Had Virat Kohli aspired for a trophy in the Indian Premier League, he could have left far earlier, to a team much more consistent. But, even today, in 2021, he chooses to play for the team and has pledged allegiance for the rest of his career. Again, Loyalty is something money cannot buy.
Almost to Supreme Glory!
Virat Kohli had one of the best individual tournaments of his career in 2016. He was the captain and one of the stars of RCB’s 2016 campaign. They had reached the final in a convincing manner and were in a comfortable position, chasing a high run target of 209 runs in 120 balls. However, after Virat Kohli’s wicket, the batting collapsed and RCB ultimately fell short by just 8 runs, losing to a much weaker opponent. This is probably the closest Virat Kohli has ever been to a League trophy, although, he has many more years to look forward to.
Coming to Gerrard, this is one moment I do not like to discuss. Just days after saying, “This does not f*cking slip”, after a convincing victory against Norwich, and three games away from Premier League glory, the wretched thing happened. Steven Gerrard, captain of the team, slipped, which allowed the opposing Chelsea player to grab the ball and put it into the back of the net, which dampened Liverpool’s spirits. Although the slip was just a scapegoat, Liverpool lost the Premier League title, by just one point. This was the closest Gerrard has ever come to lifting the trophy, he always dreamt of.
Bad Patch
Post the catastrophic end to the 2013–14 Premier League season, 2014–15 was Steven Gerrard’s last season for European football. And, it was terrible. Not only did Liverpool finish fifth, Steven Gerrard had an embarrassing moment, having been sent off, within minutes coming on to the field for a reckless challenge. The dejected Gerrard was something hard to look at.
As of October 2021, Virat Kohli has 70 international centuries, second highest for any Indian cricketer behind Sachin Tendulkar. But, his last century was in November 2019, and he has been without an international century for more than two years. This has to be one of the worst phases of his international career and one can only hope he bounces back to his very best.
Biggest Success in Early Career
Gerrard’s biggest victory, and undoubtedly, the most iconic was Liverpool’s Champions League triumph in 2005. “Miracle of Istanbul” as they call it, this victory arrived almost twenty years after their last European victory, and Gerrard was a key figure, both in the final and build-up to the final. India won the International Cricket World Cup in 2011, after a gap of 28 years. Virat Kohli was one of the youngest in the squad, and was picked in the playing 11 for all of the games. He also scored a crucial knock in the final, to help India win the cup they desired the most. Sadly, for both Virat Kohli and Gerrard, nothing major was pocketed in the decade to follow. And this remains to be a very striking characteristic of both their careers.
Lastly, Respected in their own territories
Gerrard might be taunted for his infamous slip, Virat might be taunted for his bad luck at winning coin tosses. But, a fact, which will remain till eternity, is that, they are one of the most revered and respected sportsmen in their respective territories. Steven Gerrard is a key figure in England’s sports history and so is Virat, for India. We, as mere spectators are welcome to mock them, but this does not change the fact that they have been on top of their game for an extended period of time.
