Virat Kohli quits Test captaincy
This letter refers to the captaincy relinquishment of the Indian Test Captain Virat Kohli, which is not a total surprise (“Why did Virat Kohli quit as India Test captain?”, Gulf News, January 16). After the recent ego clash between the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Kohli, about the T20 and One Day International captaincies, it was inevitable that Kohli would step down from Test captaincy too. But, Indian cricket fans never thought he would do so after losing the series, which he should have won hands down.
Probably the statement of the Chief Selector, which clarified that he and the Board Members did request Kohli to continue with the captaincy of T20, had exposed his lies about the BCCI President not requesting him to continue. It was pretty evident during his performance during the Test series in South Africa. No doubt, statistics prove that Kohli is one of India’s best captains and that he was one of the dominating batsmen in the world. But, if he has no faith in himself and relinquishes his post, no one could have help. Anyway, no one is indispensable in this world. Only performances lift or drop a person, whether in sports, the workplace, or politics. Now that the Kohli era has ended, it is time for the BCCI selectors to look for a suitable player to lead the team in Tests. Rohit Sharma could be given the Test captaincy and KL Rahul the ODI and T20 captaincy. Later on, KL Rahul could take over Rohit Sharma and Pant, or Shreyas Iyer could lead in shorter versions.
From Mr N Mahadevan
Tamil Nadu, India
Cricket: Virat Kohli steps down
The news about Virat Kohli quitting India’s cricketing captaincy comes as a great shock for me (“India selectors always wanted Virat Kohli to quit", Gulf News, January 16). He is one of the best cricketers globally, a brilliant batsman and strategist. Under his leadership, India has won many matches and tournaments at home and abroad. He is an asset to the Indian team. He is a role model for cricketers worldwide and even youngsters aspiring for a cricketing or sports career. However, India lost the test series to South Africa recently. So, what? There is no point in being over-critical of Kohli for this loss. After all, there is an element of chance in every game. Virat Kohli has won many matches for India. He should not get upset at some caustic comments on losing a game. All of us go through tough times in life. However, we need to hang on during tough times and show grit. He has contributed a lot to cricket and India. He should remain focused and become a bit more thick-skinned. Kohli has 180 million followers on Instagram, even more than the Indian Prime Minister Modi, at about 65 million. Kohli should also be more practical. He is one of the highest-paid advertising sports personalities globally for his various product endorsements. Kohli’s marketing value could take a beating if he is not the captain of the Indian team. I hope that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the cricket authorities will persuade Virat to withdraw his resignation and continue captaining the Indian team.
From Mr Rajendra Aneja
Mumbai
The therapeutic power of mundane stories
There is something immensely serene about people watching, silently observing random strangers go about their day and imagine their life stories through their body language. It brings a sense of realisation that we are all just the same- made up of flesh and bones, a heart that yearns for joy and a soul that seeks to belong. The compassion we often hope to receive is seldom delivered to others. Compassion requires making a conscious effort to get out of the zone that inhibits you from feeling for others. The ordinary people that we have encounters with every day most of them have incredible stories to share. Ask them about their lives - childhood, career, marriage, health, family, and so on. You will encounter real-life phoenixes that have risen from their ashes and fixed their hearts piece by piece alongside becoming a better version of themselves. Their reformation is similar to Kintsugi, a Japanese art involves fixing the broken pottery using gold, recreating each piece to be even more unique and precious than its original form. There are so many untold and unheard stories of the brave hearts of breaking the ghoulish shackles of circumstances and choosing to resurrect despite being subjected to humiliation, emotional havocs and physical blows. Heartbreak gives us some of the most valuable life lessons, not just the romantic kind, the kind of heartbreak caused by soul ripping grief that drowns us with an offensive force, leaving us gasping for air. To lose a child, to witness a loved one struggle for life against an ailment and worse, to find relief when that pain ends with their life. Coping with trials often acts as a catalyst in the metamorphosis of our persona and perception. Morbid experiences shake us and wake us up from the slumber of nonchalance. Tragedy tears apart our soul but juxtaposes itself to correct our vision and view the world through the lens of compassion. It makes us understand the concept of misery and feel emotions we didn’t realise existed in the first place. Once struck with grief, we begin to resonate with raw emotions, human suffering and see things around us differently. When we come across real-life stories, they strike our emotional chords by making us peek through the lives of ordinary people, allowing us to imbibe their glee as well as agony. When the sentiments of any of these stories hit home, it induces a sense of community, which sometimes act as the last straw for someone grappling through tough times. To be understood is beyond gratifying. A tribe that understands our fears and apprehensions because they suffered from similar ordeals acts like a soothing balm to our wounds. Anecdotes can’t take away the pain or fix our heart, but they often fill us with gratitude and hope that someone else went through this emotional turmoil and survived, that we are not alone in this. A tiny tale holds a magnificent potential to transform our lives. All we got to do is to time and again move out of our cosy shell of indifference and see people as they are, as humans made of flesh and blood, a heart that yearns for joy and a soul that seeks to belong.
From Ms Hanaa Zakawat Husain
UAE
