Not just the fans, broadcaster too will miss Virat Kohli during Test series

It is not just the Indian team and the fans which are going to miss Virat Kohli in the Test series. If reports are to be believed, the absence of the maverick skipper from the three Test matches is going to hurt even the host broadcasters.

“He is any broadcaster’s dream with his super competitive and care-a-damn attitude,” said ad whiz, Prahlad Kakkar to Hindustan Times.

“Unlike ‘Captain Cool’ Dhoni, who wouldn’t let any emotion show on his face, in terms of sheer watch-ability, Kohli is way ahead of everyone else. He has the correct concoction of passion, aggression and class. When he is in full flow as a batsman, that’s the most beautiful sight on the cricket field,” he added.

Both the Australian channels, Fox Sports which had the rights for limited overs game and Channel 7, had designed their promotions around the Indian captain. 

“Football superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and basketball icon LeBron James are the only international athletes on earth with a bigger marketing and social media footprint than ‘King Kohli’,” read a report in The Australian newspaper.

The reports also said that the broadcaster might have to re-cut their advertising to showcase that the Indian skipper is not available for the last three Tests.

“After the likes of Sachin Tendulkars, Rahul Dravids, Sourav Gangulys and MS Dhonis, the iconic legendary status (for Indian cricketers) no longer exists, with an exception of someone like a Kohli,” said ad filmmaker and Bollywood director, Vinil Mathew told Hindustan Times.

“He still carries an aura, brand value and traction that attracts people. So, even if someone doesn’t follow the game, he/she would know or, at least must have heard about Kohli. That shows his sheer reach and popularity.”

 “Besides his innumerable die-hard, there must be lots of real cricket fanatics, who know that the team’s performance may get affected or dip in his performance. And that may see many people not following certain matches (that Kohli doesn’t play in),” says Mathew.

The fans will expect that the team finds a way to operate without the skipper during the Test series, while the broadcasters will hope that the quality of cricket does not suffer a grip. India begin their Test campaign with the Day-Night fixture from December 17.