Virat Kohli who has been noted as one of the highest earning cricketers and who made his debut during the times of Sachin Tendulkar has also announced his retirement from 20-20 International cricket after winning the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup in Barbados. Here’s what he said, “Having achieved this much at such a young age, it’s safe to say that Kohli in a manager’s position has impacted a large number of people for stuff on and off the pitch.” Players forged a strong bond with the followers by performing on the field and even off it which for Kohli was his looks, having been described as the most attractive Indian batsman.
Once dubbed the ‘bad boy’ of cricket because of the way he carried himself on the field, Kohli, has transformed his way of handling things over the years. This move has shaped him into a figure millions of fans look up to. His quest for perfection was central not only to sports through the pursuit of discipline and physical fitness, but even in real life.
This change is in tune with Kohli’s motivational couturiers towards better, fitter lives.
Kohli succeeded MS Dhoni as the Indian team captain who had the record of winning all editions of the ICC limited overs competitions. Kohli on the other hand started aspiring to become the captain from the year 2014 after he was made the Test side captain during the tour to Australia that year. It was remarkable that, in his first game as a captain, which was in Australia, he scored a hundred in both innings including one test and another in his second test match.
In October 2023, batsman Kohli took over the full cap of his white ball cricket team India from Dhoni. His effforts saw the team reach the finals of the Champions Trophy and the semi fins of the ICC cricket world cup in 2019, however glory in these competitions eluded the Indians.
In view of this here are five key thing to learn from Virat Kohli:
Respect the opportunity life gives you
Kohli broke down and expressed his feelings during the presentation of the T20 World Cup Final 2024 and said something like ” Apna sar neeche rakhke, opportunity ki izzat karke hi aage badha jaa sakta hai” . “ Keep your head low and do not get too emboldened by victory and respect the opportunity.
Virat Kohli sah enjoying IPL orange cap headed towards 2024 T20 World Cup with a heavy pressure of impressing the fans around the world. In the IPL, there was a clear change in his gameplay when he played aggressively right from the very first ball.
Kohli’s form has been very good leading into what was a tough T20 world cup for him. In total Kohli scored 156 runs with 76 of those coming in the last match, This team gave him an important chance and he came through in the end.
Trust God’s plan
While talking to Sky Sports, Kohli said, “Everyone has a plan and I don’t question God’s plans”.
There has been a lot of changes and achievements regarding Virat Kohli’s cricket career. The first attention came when he led India to lift the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup in 2008. He further enhanced this reputation while being a part of India’s 2011 ODI World Cup Winning squad along with Sachin and Yuvraj, where he was a very significant performer. In his first game of that tournament, He scored a century as well.
In 2013, Kohli achieved the other important event in his career by freeing the Champions Cup winning together with Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja headed by MS Dhoni.
Kohli won the Player of the Tournament award in both T20 World Cups and once in every World Cup, yet he would not lift the major trophy till 2024. In his last T20 International match, where India won the 2024 T20 World Cup, Kohli was awarded Player of the Match.
With this victory, Kohli entered the comity of Indian cricketers who had claimed all the three white balls ICC events.
Step up and prove yourself
During an online interview with Graham Bensinger, Virat said: “Every time i hit rock bottom, somehow i was able to put everything aside and say Right, I am going to work hard and I am going to get back up.”
When it came to the cricketing journey of Virat Kohli, the COVID 19 period was quite tough in his career as he had to wait for a long time to get his 41st international century. This was also the case with Kohli’s wait for an international century where it took him 1020 days and 83 innings and this was during the time that he had scored 70 international centuries.
This period, also saw the captaincy transition to Rohit Sharma who took over from Kohli. Sharma then proceeded to lead the team to T20 World Cup 2024 victory. Kumar, many cricket pundits had ruled out Kohli from their teams, however, Kohli kept on training hard.
The fugitive was able to bear down and lift the bat when it was most needed. During 2022 T20 Cricket World Cup, India went into the match with high capabilities but no expectations. At one point against Pakistan, while chasing 159 runs india was reduced to 31 for 4 in just over the powerplay. Kohli batted exceedingly well, accumulating 82 runs in response to 53 balls he faced. When it came down to 8 balls remaining and 28 runs required Kohli was on bated and India emerged winners.
Take risks
For Puma’s interview, Virat said, “You have to take risks, yeah there is nothing calls safe option.” He seemed to say that it is good to take risks as there is nothing that one can call a safe option to life in general.
Virat Kohli the ever clever batsman who began by getting a feel of the pitch and rotating the strike has now evolved. Kohli took on the bowlers right from the very first ball, no more settling in before going on the offensive, no more ground shots only seeing the ball and blasting with aggressive and soaring strokes. This development constitutes a drastic alteration in his batting technique.
Earlier on, Kohli was concerned about getting a feel of the pitch before attempting big hits, however, now he is more aggressive right from the onset of his innings. This new strategy is more of a skill that has put his game to growth and innovation in this case.
The night is darkest just before dawn
Virat in the posed press conference of T20 World Cup Final said, “I did not feel so confident in the past few games. The last few games didn’t go so well for me. But when God has to bless you with something, he does it in a way that is uncommonly beautiful. That’s why I said, I am very thankful and very much humbled.”
Virat Kohli was excellent in the ordinary international cricket world cup on September 5th 2023. He became the first person to score 50 ODI centuries overtaking the record of Sachin Tendulkar. In 11 innings he amassed 765 runs in hand with a staggering average of 95.62.
The Indian team was on a roll winning ten games in a row was the last time they were having tears till they unfortunately low the final game against the Australian team. The loss was gut-wrenching and it dampened the country’s cricketing spirits until the victory in the T20 World Cup 2024 brought it all back.
