King Kohli: Alpha Male of Indian sports in 2025
The Alpha Males in Indian sports have been pushing each other hard, across different sporting arenas. For those who like to rewind, reflect, even pause and think, what was the best, the choices are aplenty. And that is a good sign for Indian sport in a year when there was no Asian Games or Olympics to go through.
Usually, it is a bit dull in a sporting year for Indian athletes, competing in disciplines other than cricket, when there are no medals to be won at big international, multi-discipline Games. Yet, no good performance can be ruled out. All the males, be it teenagers or men in 20s or early 30s who pushed hard, be it on the chess board, track and field, or even more muscular sports tried their best.
Off the cuff, it is easy to rave about how darling of the Indian sporting fans, Neeraj Chopra finally breached the 90-metre barrier with the javelin and also showed consistent results in the big-ticket events. Yet, it is also known, Neeraj, despite changing coaches and technique has struggled with a back problem. To finish eighth in the javelin event was certainly disappointing at the World Championship in Tokyo. However, Neeraj knows he can come back strongly in the next two-year cycle, leading to the LA Olympics in 2028.
Indeed, one young man who grabbed headlines at the same World Championship in Tokyo was Animesh Kujur. He became the fastest-ever sprinter in 100m and then did well in the 200m dash as well. Did Kujur grab eyeballs? Yes, he did. He has shown more than promise, rather a flourish and marks him out as exceptional talent for the years coming up, notably with the Asian Games to be held in 2026 in Nagoya, Japan, and then the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Animesh Kujur is aware in 2026, he has a chance to do a lot more, also at the Commonwealth Games. If he can become the next poster boy of Indian athletics, that will be brilliant. One Neeraj is not enough.
There have been many more performances as well, but to leave out cricket will be next to impossible. Yes, social media has been on overdrive, what with the hype over Shubman Gill as the next “God” of cricket. Appreciate his talent, praise his runs scored in the England Test tour, but you cannot be blind to his failures and fitness problems as well.
Imagine, he gets pushed into all three formats of international cricket by Messrs Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar. End result, Gill breaks down, has serious fitness concerns and is now ejected from the T20 team, as well as vice captaincy for the World Cup next year. He is batting again at the nets in Punjab, hoping he can showcase fitness. At the back of his mind, Gill knows, he is nervous and has to perform. Critics are watching, even as he has a massive PR drive ‘club’ with myopic vision.
Last but not the least comes King Kohli. That the bearded stalwart has been in tremendous shape is a delight for every fan. King Kohli has worshipped how own body like a temple and prayed. His habits in eating, fitness drills, staying calm, spirituality stimulation and regular darshans of Guru Premanand Maharaj with wife Anushka Sharma are part of his routine.
The trolls he has faced on social media, the negativity he has faced from agenda-driven writers and editors, Kohli has shown he is a monk in meditation. Despite the storm there is a calm. And it is in this mediative state, Kohli channelises himself. The energy flow can be seen as he scores runs, now in just two formats – ODIs and the IPL.
Watching the 37-year-old Kohli still labour and deliver, there is no doubt he is an inspiration to millions. So, what, if he was pushed out of Test cricket. He almost owns the ODI format, with Pakistan being his favourite punching bag. As the Delhi batter, now shuttling between Mumbai and London to lead a ‘normal life’ showed up in the ODIs in 2025, he scored 651 runs at an average of 65.10, with three centuries. For those who need a reminder, how he creamed the Pakistan attack for a ton in Dubai during the Champions Trophy still stands out. There have been more knocks as well, even as we have been made to believe each day Kohli is “on trial.”
Come to the hottest cricket event in the world, the Indian Premier League. It has been a long wait for RCB to clinch the trophy. Again, Kohli is not the captain of RCB. That role has been handed over to Rajat Patidar. Yet, everyone who watched the RCB side shine in the summer knows there is a Kohli imprint and footprint. He scored 657 runs this season, with a 43 in the final against Punjab Kings so valuable.
No, this is not the end. The BCCI, in its eagerness to make machines out of men insisted even the superstars like Kohli and Rohit Sharma played the Vijay Hazare Trophy. It’s a short winter break, but Kohli has again scored over 200 runs in two matches.
No guesses, no debates, King Kohli emerges the best male athlete in 2025.
