No point in competing if you don’t want to be the best, believes Virat Kohli
BCCI
Virat Kohli has stated that he had a goal to become an impactful player instead of being an ordinary batsman which drove him to become the best player in the world and achieve the same for his team. He further talked about how his fitness regime has helped him and credited his success to hard work.
Currently the number one batsman in ODIs and a spot behind in the game’s longest format, Virat Kohli is probably the most daunting batsmen of the present generation. He has driven the Indian team home in historic run chases innumerable times but the same didn’t use to always be the case for the skipper. Over the years, his consistent performances and domination of the bowlers have helped him earn the reputation of being the best of this generation and one of the greatest of all time.Â
“(There was a time) When I walked in to bat, there wasn’t any fear or respect in opposition corner. I didn’t want to walk into the ground thinking that opposition feels that this guy is a pushover, who is going to do no damage. Just didn’t want to be another player as I wanted to make an impact. I wanted that when I walk in, the teams should think that we need to get this guy out or else we will lose the game. And if I don’t want to be that guy, then there is something wrong in my head,” Virat Kohli was quoted saying by TOI to Graham Bensinger in an interview.Â
The 30-year-old has grown into a fitness icon in the country and his regime has revolutionized Indian cricket as the world has got to witness unprecedented levels of fitness and match preparation in the team.
“During World Cup, every game my energy level was 120 percent. My recovery was so fast that average distance I covered in a game was 15 kms. I would come back, do my recovery treatments and travel to another city and soon I was ready to train again. There was so much energy that I could do gym sessions and play 10 games in such a short span of time (35 days). Played each game at high intensity and never felt like this before. There was no stiffness in my body,” Kohli revealed.
The rise of Kohli has been a rapid one and the talisman believes in the mantra that talent without hard work is just wasted potential.
“I knew I wasn’t the most skilled sportsperson when I came in but only constant thing has been working on myself. If Indian team has to be the best in the world, it needs to go about in a certain manner,” he stated.
The first glimpses on the international arena of a world class batsman in the making came post India’s 2012 tour of Australia where they were whitewashed 4-0 in the Tests. The loss seemed to have struck a chord which led the way to an era of domination by him and his country.
“When we came back from Australia in 2012, I saw a gap (between us and Australia). I realised, if we don’t change the way we are playing, training or eating, we can’t compete with best in the world. No point in competing if you don’t want to be the best. I wanted to be the best version of myself and then based everything around that vision, my approach to the game changed,” he signed off on the matter.
