The Century Man

IN 2023, VIRAT KOHLI RESUMED NORMAL SERVICE AS A GALE FORCE—-MONUMENTAL BATTING MILESTONES WERE CROSSED AND THE WORLD WAS DOMINATED AT THE HOME CUP

- Nikhil Naz

VIRAT KOHLI IS AMONG THOSE FEW WHO HAVE surpassed the predictions, nay demands, of greatness thrust upon them early on in their careers, turning in annual exhibitions of excellence over nearly the span of a generation. His 15 years in international cricket-chubby-cheeked wunderkind, then a youth icon with a sharp goatee, neatly prefiguring his present status as the GOAT-define an epoch. Much like Sachin Tendulkar, whose record Kohli broke this year. That he became the first one to score fifty-one-day tons in the presence of his childhood idol seemed like divine providence to a man who has kept his tryst with destiny.