April 22 and April 24, 1998. Two of the most important dates in modern India's cricket history, thanks to Sachin Tendulkar's exploits against Australia at Sharjah.
Less than a month removed since those twin hundreds, a boy, who watched the back-to-back superhuman efforts on TV, made his way into the West Delhi Cricket Academy.
He went by the name of Virat Kohli and his first few days at the Academy were so-so. Nothing stood out but things changed in a few weeks. The catalyst for that wasn't a flick of his now-famous wrists, nor that elegant cover drive he is also famous for. It was a throw from the outfield. “I remember vividly. He produced a throw that made heads turn.
He was just nine, but the accuracy and power in that throw gave an indication that he had one quality — the feel for the game — and we lost no time in concentrating on Virat,” recalled Raj Kumar (one of his earliest coaches, who went on to play the role of mentor following the loss of his father, Prem).
It's these little nuggets of information which makes Vijay Lokapally's Driven, a biography of sorts of Virat, an engaging read. The book, given it did not have access to Kohli, ran the risk of reading like a long Wikipedia entry but Lokapally, who has been covering the sport even before Kohli was born, gives a behind-the-scenes look into the cricketer's formative years.
In that sense, it achieves exactly what it says on the tin (or in this case, the summary at the back of the cover). “(...) an account punctuated with little-known stories by former players, coaches and intimates.”
For example, a new hairstyle formed the basis for him being nicknamed Chikoo. During a Ranji Trophy match in Mumbai, a still raw Kohli had gotten a haircut before showing it off to his teammates (some of whom were Gautam Gambhir, Mithun Manhas and Virender Sehwag).
“Not bad, you look like a Chikoo,” remarked Ajit Chowdhary, Delhi's then assistant coach. The book is a delight for anecdote hunters and some of it has not been published.
But apart from the smile-inducing incidents, it's easy to see why the 221-page read has been titled, 'Driven'. There is no other suitable adjective to describe Kohli's bloody-mindedness to carve out a career.
The work ethic, despite being written off as a brat, was his bible as the book points out several times. But like most stories in this genre, this one, too, suffers because of the absence of critical bites from Kohli. How does he go about compiling those huge scores in successful run chases? Minor misgivings in an otherwise fine read.
swaroop@newindianexpress.com