Virat Kohli gets candid about his achievements and goals
Virat Kohli held a candid Facebook chat with his fans and revealed his own self assessment and motivations. He said he is far from satisfied with where he is as a cricketer.
“I am very much a work in progress as a cricketer. Opponents are always trying to get you out, trying to outsmart you and you need to stay ahead of them. I feel like I am learning everyday, trying something new on the field,” said Kohli.
On scoring 7000 runs faster than anyone else, he shifted the focus on the team. “I never planned it to be honest. The aim is to score as many runs for the team as possible. I did not focus on it (the record) but god has been my kind. When you look back you do feel it is special but you can’t really plan these records,” he said.
Kohli took just 161 innings to reach 7000 runs. He gave a hat tip to his brother who was watching. “It was also special to score the century with my brother watching it from the stands. He came to see me just for a day and I am glad his trip turned out to be a fruitful one,” he said.
On how he prepares differently when playing in India against playing abroad he said it is all the same to him. “I take every game the same way (whether in India or overseas). I want to score runs in every game I play and I want to win the game for my team. I feel it is just putting extra pressure in your head if you start categorising conditions. Cricket is a simple game and I try to keep it simple.”
Kohli added that he is still quite close to Yuvraj Singh. “I am very close to him. He is like an elder brother to me. I have always been very fond of him. He plays the game with a lot of passion. He is a wonderful human being, not many know that.”
He also mentioned that Yuvraj has not been judged fairly. “There has been misconceptions about him but he is very hard-working, takes a lot of pride in playing for India. He has always guided me. I am very excited to be playing with him in T20s here,” said Kohli.
When asked about his bowling action, Virat laughed and conceded that his action does elicit laughter. “Everyone laughs when I come on to bowl no matter what the situation is. I know my action is funny but I get the job done which is important,” he said.
Kohli was asked to pick his top three hundreds among his 11 hundreds. He said “The century in Johannesburg (119 in Dec 2013) has to be at the top. We chose to bat on day one, the wicket was green, the bowling attack was challenging and I had not scored runs in the preceding one day series. There was a build up before that Test match. We were tagged as not being able handle to bouncy balls. Looking back, that century was special.”
“Second one will be second innings at Adelaide (141 in Dec 2014). We went for the target and I did not plan to focus on the hundred. It was one of the best zones I have been in while batting.” he added.
“Wellington (105 in Feb 2014) is third. I wanted to finish the series on a high. So this has to be the order of top three,” he added.
A Bollywood fan, Kohli said he already has the opening scene for his movie in his mind, if a movie is ever made on him. “The opening scene would me hogging some fried food at home and some paranthas with a lot of butter. And a big can of colas and drinks that I don’t even touch now. That would be the opening scene,” said Kohli.
He also mentioned Aamir Khan as his favourite actor. In conclusion Kohli was asked about the life lesson he has learned from cricket, if any. He said “Yes I have. And that is never stop working hard. Never take anything for granted. Never drift away from goals, your values and vision. Things can come down very quickly. Our sport teaches you that so well,” he added.