Book review: 'DRIVEN - The Virat Kohli Story' is an inspiring read

Book: DRIVEN - The Virat Kohli Story
Author: Vijay Lokapally
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Rs 399 | 221 pages
 
It is only natural to cash in on the popularity of sportspersons and write a book on them. And, when Virat Kohli is in the best of his form, churning out runs by the tons and leading India to victory Test after Test, this is the right chance to pen his story.

But, Driven – The Virat Kohli Story written by senior cricket journalist Vijay Lokapally is not any run-of-the-mill book. Lokapally is a widely-travelled journalist with immense knowledge of the game and even wider knowledge of the players through three-and-a-half decades of covering the sport.

Winning the respect and trust of the cricketers is what a journalist aspires for, and the New Delhi-based scribe has won it with years of writing on the sport and its players. Just to give an example, the current India chief coach and former captain, the legendary Anil Kumble is not an easy person to please. Accolades do not come easily from the champion leg-spinner. For him to appreciate Lokapally after having known him from his under-19 plays is what Lokapally is about.

The book, an easy read, is written in a simple manner with interviews from those who have seen Kohli closely from his younger days. This book is not only about what Kohli’s team-mates and childhood coach, mentor and father-figure Raj Kumar Sharma have said about the current Test captain, but it has also been penned from the author’s close interactions with Kohli and watching him in action from his younger days.

Driven is very interesting in the first half that speaks about Kohli's early days and the early influences in his career. It is a known fact that Kohli mustered courage and put the team before self the morning after he lost his father when he turned up at the Feroz Shah Kotla to resume his Ranji Trophy innings for Delhi against Karnataka. But what Driven offers extra are the finer details of what Kohli went through in his toughest moment that transformed him from a boy into a man.

Kohli has been in the public eye since leading India to the under-19 World Cup in 2008. The stories of his growing up years through his age-group team-mates reveal more about Kohli and how he hated losing even then. Lokapally has also spoken with umpires who have officiated in his age-group games that reveal the making of a tough cricketer that Kohli is today.

Kohli has mellowed down a lot, especially since taking over the Test captaincy full time in 2015. It shows in his celebrations after reaching a century. From what were highly emotional outbursts on reaching three-figures to simply raising his bat, knowing very well that he still has some unfinished business is well captured in the book.

Kohli’s respect for his fellow cricketers and seniors are detailed. Gifting a car to his coach Sharma for Teacher’s Day in 2014 is just one such token of appreciation that the writer records. His reverence for Sachin Tendulkar showed in his statement to a global audience after the 2011 World Cup triumph in Mumbai when he said: “This goes out to all the people of India. This is my first World Cup; I can’t ask for more. Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for twenty-one years. It was time we carried him. Chak de India!”

The latter part of the book may have Kohli’s quotes from his post-match press conferences and interviews published in newspapers and magazines, not revealing more than what is already available about the person. Readers may be disappointed that there is hardly anything about his relationship with actress Anushka Sharma. But this book is about Kohli, the cricketer, and so what he does in his personal life is not for public consumption. Lokapally deserves a pat for not intruding into Kohli’s privacy.

It is this characteristic of Lokapally’s writings, over the years, that has won him admirers and respect from not only the cricketing fraternity but also from fellow journalists.
Not minding the odd misses like the India under-19 tour of South Africa a month prior to the 2008 World Cup under coach WV Raman, who had to give way for Australian Dav Whatmore for the biennial event, or mentioning Chris Broad (father) instead of Stuart Broad (son) on one occasion, Driven, The Virat Kohli Story is a must-read for not just Kohli’s fans but also those who seek inspiration to succeed in life.