VIRAT KOHLI UNPLUGGED: King Kohli opens up in RCB podcast

King Virat Kohli has opened up beautifully on the emotions he undergoes as a cricketer for India and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League. RCB is a franchise which has never won the IPL title in all these 18 years, yet they have a massive fan following and social media presence.

For those who have seen King Kohli in various shades, as ‘Cheeku’ when he played Ranji Trophy for Delhi and then moved to higher echelons, the passion and emotions remains the same. He is a fierce competitor, someone who gives a 100 per cent. As the IPL reaches a crescendo, and the Top Four will make it to the Playoffs, RCB are in the hunt. With 16 points from 11 matches, it had been a dream come true for Kohi, RCB and lakhs of fans.

In a tete a tete with the RCB fans in a podcast, Kohli opened up in detail. “For me, what's more valuable is the relationship and the mutual respect that has been created over so many years (with RCB). And I'm just going to say it now, whether we win or we don't win, it's fine. This is my moment. The love that I've received from the fans, I don't think any silverware, or any trophy can come close to that because the impact of that love from people hits you very different to winning something and the next morning it's all gone. This, I feel, will stay with me for life,” said Kohli.

What does this mean to a layman? It talks of Virat Kohli giving a 100 per cent and not worrying. Way back, when MS Dhoni was leading India, he would talk of a process and not results. Obviously, Kohli has picked up a lot from his former captain MS Dhoni and guide Ravi Shastri. To say that Kohli is grooming RCB skipper Rajat Patidar is stating the obvious. That’s something Kohli loves, sharing and caring, not being selfish. “At one point, it did become tough for me because there was just too much happening in my career. I was captaining India for a period of 7-8 years. I captained RCB for 9 years. There were expectations on me from a batting perspective every game that I played. I didn't have this sense that the attention was off me. If it wasn't captaincy, it would be batting. I was exposed to it 24x7. It did get very tough on me, and it did get too much in the end. That's why I stepped down,” said Kohli in the podcast.

Old timers who have been with Kohli in the Delhi team say he wanted to be like legend Sachin Tendukar. The common thread, both are passionate cricketers and have loved the sport. Kohli never likes it when comparisons are made with his idol, Sachin the superstar. If anything, Kohli has shown utmost respect to the Indian sensation, who at 52, is still a heart-throb.

KohIi did open up on his former coach Gary Kirtsen as well. “I was very realistic about my abilities. Because I had seen a lot of other people play. And I did not feel like my game was anywhere close to theirs. The only thing that I had was determination. And if I wanted to make my team win, I was willing to do anything. That was the very reason I got chances to play for India initially. And Gary and MS made it very clear to me that we are backing you to play at number three,” said Kohli.

Has failure ever worried Kohli the champion cricketer. From outside, he looks teflon coated but inside there is a human heart. “What happens when you're young is you feel like, if I have scored X amount of runs by the time I'm this age or whatever, things will ease out. It never happens like that. And that is the marker actually. When you stop feeling that nervousness or that anticipation of how things are going to unfold is when people say that you're done. So that never goes away from you because that very energy is what keeps you engaged to do what you need to do in that moment,” added Kohi.

The next few weeks will be defining for Kohli in many ways. As he says, keep performing and believe in hard work.