As Team India gears up to take on South Africa in the third Test of the three-match series at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, all eyes are on one man – Virat Kohli

Johannesburg: As Team India gears up to take on South Africa in the third Test of the three-match series at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, all eyes are on one man – Virat Kohli. He is emotional, aggressive and more often than not crosses the line when it comes to the spirit of the gentleman’s game. Despite all this, there is no denying the fact that Kohli is a champion. And the country of a billion people believes that if there is one man who can help India restore pride by winning the last Test, it is their captain.

With India 0-2 down in the series and staring at a whitewash, it is not the best of times for Kohli, especially after the success he achieved in the last season at home. In fact, after a rare failure in the opening Test in Cape Town, former India opener Virender Sehwag wanted the skipper to drop himself. Coming from a man who played 104 Tests, it did sound outrageous. But then, such is the passion for the game in the country.

And former South Africa star Makhaya Ntini feels this pressure of expectations and Kohli’s ability to handle it with aplomb is what sets him apart from the rest in the world. Even as pundits across the world debate who the best batsman in the world is between Kohli and Australia skipper Steve Smith, for Ntini it is the former, hands down.

Speaking to CricketNext, Ntini said handling the pressure that comes with being the idol of millions of cricket fanatics, and where cricketers are worshiped like demi-gods, is no mean feat.

“Firstly, the fans need to let Kohli breathe. But to be honest, in a country where cricket is an obsession, Kohli shoulders the responsibility of bringing a smile to a billion faces like a true champion. At times, it almost feels like he is a run-machine and not a human. His dedication and work ethic is exemplary and the consistency with which he scores runs -- the huge level of expectation notwithstanding -- sets him apart from any player in the modern era. No denying that Smith is an equally brilliant batsman, but the Aussie skipper doesn’t have half the pressure from fans that Kohli has to face every time he marks his guard,” the 40-year-old said.

Statistics show that while Australian Rules Football, rugby and soccer dominate the sporting scenes in Australia with cricket ranking third or fourth from time to time, cricket runs a lone race in India. No other sport comes even close to the gentleman’s game when it comes to fan following and viewership in the country.

Moving on from the Kohli-Smith debate, for a man with 390 Test wickets in 101 games, Ntini was known more for his unconventional action than his pace. And India have now found their own unconventional pacer in Jasprit Bumrah. While the bowler has impressed Ntini, the former Zimbabwe bowling coach feels that getting the bowling arm closer to his ear would make Bumrah lethal.

“To be fair, Bumrah has just started off in the longer version. But he has impressed in limited-overs cricket and if he can get his bowling arm closer to his ear, that will make him all the more dangerous with the angle he will then create. It will make even the ball that holds its line after pitching, unplayable. I am sure he has the right people guiding him and has a bright future ahead of him,” he said.

Commenting on the current series, Ntini feels that even though the Indians did not manage to win or draw the Test series, their brand of cricket has impressed one and all. Also, it will be a completely different ball game in the limited-overs series.

“India might have failed to get the desired result in the Test series, but they have played an aggressive brand of cricket and that has seen the momentum shift time and again in both the Test matches – in Cape Town and Centurion. Kohli knows his game and he had the bowlers who could get him 20 wickets. The batting did disappoint and not having Ajinkya Rahane in the XI meant that the visitors missed the trick. But then, it will be a completely new chapter when the ODIs start and trust me the wounded Indians will come out all guns blazing,” he signed off.