Star syndrome: Virat Kohli effect won’t carry the team, that applies outside sport too

India’s first cricket Test against England last week at Birmingham ended in a familiar but still heartbreaking loss. Even as the team’s collective performance fell short captain Virat Kohli became the seventh Indian to be ranked at the top of ICC Test rankings, while scoring almost half his team’s runs. The captain’s performance drew a comparison to the last Indian at the top of Test batting rankings: Sachin Tendulkar. In the first half of his career Tendulkar was a standout performer on tough overseas tours but the team often ended on the losing side.

If the last decade was India’s finest in overseas Test tours, it’s because dependence on an individual gave way to a collective effort. The advent of Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag, among others, meant Indian batting was no longer a one man show. This era eclipsed the long standing belief that the team’s performance was centred on the performance of an individual. Little wonder that it was in this decade that Indian cricket teams recorded many of their finest moments overseas. If the current Indian team is to improve its performance in remaining Tests, other batsmen will have to do some of the heavy lifting.

It is often said that sport is a reflection of society. Perhaps Indian cricket reflects a larger trend in society and politics where a larger-than-life leader and dynasties are the norm. The Union cabinet, for example, largely centres around Prime Minister Narendra Modi, indicating either paucity of deep ministerial talent or lack of capacity to delegate – much work, for example, seems to be done through PMO and bureaucrats. Similarly, Congress largely centres around the Gandhi family. There is a lesson to be learnt from the developed world where talent is cultivated and teams coordinate much better – a trend visible in cricket too.