Goliath Virat Kohli downed by South Africa’s David

There are plenty of stats to choose from which illustrate just what a remarkable cricketer Virat Kohli is. Number of Test wins as captain (40), the centuries he has scored (27 in Tests, 43 in ODIs), his influence on the Indian team. That’s just a taster.

Who is, or was, the most successful and ruthless chaser of targets in ODI cricket? England are rightly proud of Jonny Bairstow’s record in the second innings in which he averages almost 53 with six hundreds and seven 50s. AB de Villiers averaged 82.77 in successful run chases and the original ‘finisher’, Michael Bevan, averaged 86.25 in Australian wins batting second.

Virat Kohli has scored 5299 runs in successful run chases at an average of 96.34. It is staggering, illustrating not just his fabulous skill but a desire to win which consumes him at the crease. In Test cricket, where that drive needs to be maintained over the course of several days, it occasionally spilt over the edges of decency.

But that’s not the statistic which fascinates me most. The number which boggles me is $750,000 which is what Kohli (or his people) apparently charge for an Instagram endorsement from the great man. Not a full day of filming with a production company, just a couple of lines, a smiley face or maybe a 30-second clip.

That’s just his fun income. There are a host of corporate sponsors and endorsement deals which pay millions over the table rather than under it. They all make his official salary look like a waiter’s tip.

He has a fleet of luxury vehicles including a couple of Bentleys in the garage under his multi-million dollar apartment in Mumbai, amongst the most expensive real estate in the world. He is the only cricketer to feature in the Forbes top-100 rich-list for sports people. Which means there are another 99 men (and a few women) who have also maintained ferocious passion and keen discipline for their sports.

They all spend thousands of hours out of public view honing their skills and toning their bodies in order to maintain and even improve on the standards they have set for themselves. The rewards in professional sport are market-related (as are Instagram endorsements, presumably) so, although the numbers are mind-boggling, the men and women on that list deserve their wealth.

It is not without significance that Kohli is the only cricketer on the list. Obviously it reflects the vastness of the finances in other sports, especially the American sports, but it is also a dead-cert bet that not a single person on that list spends more time away from home than Kohli or has less opportunity to enjoy the special luxuries and comforts that their fortunes can provide for them.

Cricket is different from other sports, and not always in a good way. Golfers and tennis players have managers, masseurs, coaches and various other members of their entourage to ‘worry’ about but, ultimately, they are responsible for their own performances and the cost of the private jet in which they travel. And the superstar, billionaire players who do have to rely on team-mates in the AFL and NBA, well, at least they never have to leave their own country to perform.

There was a stark reminder of the difference between top sports performers and most of the rest of us when Chris Morris retired from all forms of cricket last week at the age of just 34. At the last IPL auction he was the most expensive sale, a fee which made him financially secure for life. He had planned to stay fit for another IPL season by playing for the Titans. He traveled to Paarl a few weeks ago for a four-day match where he carried drinks as 12th man at a deserted Boland Park. Perhaps it dawned on him then. ‘What am I doing here? I don’t need this…’

For the last seven years as captain of India Kohli has held one of the most high profile positions in all of sport. If Morris is set for life, Kohli is a thousand times better off, more money than he could spend in the rest of his life if he tried to spend a LOT every day for as long as he has breath in his body. Yet the commercial flights, the endless press conferences, the (vegan) club sandwiches from room service and, of course, the net sessions and training could not sway him. Not even BCCI president Saurav Ganguly’s clumsy attempt to clip his wings by removing him from the ODI and T20 captaincy could dampen his enthusiasm.

All it took, as it transpired, was a 28-year-old batter from the humble town of Paarl playing in just his fifth Test match. Man-of-the-series, Keegan Petersen, did more than anyone in the final Test at Newlands to end Kohli’s dream of becoming the first Indian captain to win a Test series in South Africa. International cricket’s wealthiest player was persuaded to end his tenure as captain by a player with, surely, one of the most modest bank balances. Funny how things work out.

I loved Kohli’s captaincy in the same way I loved John McEnroe’s tantrums. Genius players with flawed temperaments, racquet smashing and stump yelling outbursts which looked disrespectful to their sports but which were, ironically, inspired by their love of them.