At 19, I was not half as good as youngsters today, claims Virat Kohli

07/24/2019

Virat Kohli has hailed the skills and confidence levels of youngsters Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill, while stating that he wasn't half as good as them at the same age. Kohli also showered praise on IPL for laying out the perfect platform for youngsters to showcase their talent.

There are very few jobs in the world as intense and stressful as captaining the Indian Cricket team. While one day you get celebrated for leading your team to victory, you will be thrown under the bus the very next day if you fail to win. After India's shock semi-final loss to New Zealand in the World Cup, former cricketers and experts alike along with the general public started questioning the credibility of skipper Virat Kohli's leadership.

While one set of reports suggested that Kohli was going to be rested for the tour of the Windies, the other one stated that the BCCI was considering relieving Kohli of captaincy duties from ODI cricket, a report which raised quite a few eyebrows. However, all the rumours were quashed on Sunday as BCCI named their squad for the tour of the Windies, with Kohli being named as the captain for all three formats.

But these aren't new circumstances for the Indian skipper. Speaking exclusively to Times of India, Kohli has revealed that failures and setbacks teach him more than success and motivate him as a person, while also helping him build his character. Kohli also spoke about the fine margins in the game, stating "India did no wrong" in their semi-final clash against the Kiwis, yet ended up losing the match.

"I have learnt most in my life from failures and setbacks. The worst setbacks have not only motivated me but also improved me as a person, made me understand the importance of those times more than the success. Secondly, these moments show you the people who are going to stand by you in tough times, and the people who will jump ship," Kohli told Times of India in an exclusive interview.

"Most importantly, it builds your character because suddenly this thing happens. It’s very difficult to digest because you know you didn’t make many mistakes to be knocked out. When you make mistakes, you can point them out and take ownership of that but when you have been outplayed then the acceptance becomes difficult," he spoke of India's defeat.

Kohli was full of praise for his men, revealing that he told them to be proud of their efforts while insisting them not to take credit away from what they have done.

"What we have spoken to the team is that you should be proud of the way you have played and must never forget that. The moment you start taking credit away from what you’ve done, you start putting unnecessary pressure on yourself," he said.

In 2008, with the likes of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir around him, Kohli broke into the Indian team as a 19-year-old, and faced an uphill task to gell in and fix his spot in the team. 11 years later, the tables have turned, and Kohli now faces the task of slowly transitioning the likes of Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer into the team.

Kohli, who was an Under-19 World Cup-winning captain in 2008, has hailed the skillset of the youngsters, stating he wasn't half as good as them during his teenage days. He also credited the IPL for their success, calling it the "best thing to happen for a cricketer", as each and every cricketer gets to showcase their skills globally against the best of the best.

"They are amazing. The level of confidence that they have is amazing to see. As I have mentioned so many times before, at 19-20, we were not even half the players these guys are. Skills have developed because of exposure to tournaments like the IPL. It’s the best thing that can happen to a cricketer," he said.

"They are so confident by the time they come here that they learn very quickly from their mistakes, because they have already played in front of so many people. But the intent has to be that ‘I am using this platform to play for my country’. And I think that these guys are in that zone," he added.

The Kohli-led Indian team will travel to Florida where they will kickstart their T20I series against the Windies on August 3rd.