Tag: Virat Kohli

The embodiment of L to P of Leadership and still learning!


“He listened to my idea for a minute, started (resumed) playing the game (on PlayStation) and said, ‘Do what you want, I have complete belief in you.’ And the next day I started bowling over the stumps.”
Said Ravichandran Ashwin in an interview with Cricbuzz decoding the strategy of Warner’s dismissal (in Bengaluru Test, 2017) that he had mentally worked out, to his Captain.
Need I say anything more about how should a good leader be?
“Ashwin had picked up 2 wickets in the first innings including that of Warner and in the second innings he ran through the Australian batting line-up by picking six for 41 as India drew level with a 75-run victory.

India then went on to win the series 2-1.”
(Source: Hindustan Times)
Virat has, for sure, set some high standards in always backing the instincts of his bowlers and letting them experiment freely, while also chipping in with his valuable inputs and setting the wickets of/field for particular batsmen.

“All three of us — Ishant (Sharma), (Jasprit) Bumrah, and I want to bowl with a new ball. When we are not able to choose, we approach Virat to decide. But he throws the ball back in our court saying whatever you all decide is fine by me,” Shami said.
Source: India TV

“We were playing the 3rd Test against Sri Lanka at the Feroz Shah Kotla. It was getting into a draw and Chandimal was batting on 140 or 150, Ash was bowling, Chandimal hit one towards midwicket. It was in the mandatory overs, the match was going to end and he got a 248 in that match if I am not mistaken. And he runs as if his life depended on that ball, picks that ball and does an acrobatic throw,” R Sridhar, The fielding Coach of Team India told FanCode.

“You have a captain, who comes out to fielding practice till the time he is bleeding, I have seen that. There have been times where I would tell him – Virat enough. I have to save Virat from Virat sometimes. You have a captain like that, for me, it’s a dream come true,” he added.
Source: cricketaddictor.com

During an exclusive interview on Star Sports Cricket Connected, Gautam Gambhir said, “He was always a very smart cricketer, but then he turned his entire T20 career into a very successful one, just by being supremely fit. Probably because he does not have the strength of Chris Gayle, he doesn’t have the ability of AB de Villiers, he probably does not have the ability of somebody likes Jacques Kallis or Brian Lara. The biggest strength he’s got is now his fitness and he’s turned that into his game as well, that’s why he has become so successful, so you got to give it to the guy. The most important thing is that he runs really well between the wickets, not many people do it.”
Source: m.mid-day.com
Also checkout: https://internationaljournalofresearch.com/2020/06/09/virat-kohli-the-man-who-brought-about-a-fitness-revolution-in-global-cricket/

“I remember when I was new in the team he backed me a lot. In fact, now also, he is always there for me. He always appreciates your skills and we have a great tuning together,” he further added.

Kuldeep further went on to reveal Kohli’s best quality. “The best quality of Virat is that he also understands the team and its player’s well which makes our job easy on field,” he said.


In an interview also with Hindustan Times, Chahal said that Virat ‘talks me out of the negative mindset’.
Even if I am being hit by a batsman, Virat Bhaiya turns to me and talks me out of that negative mindset. That rapport is also there when we play for RCB.

On Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected, Yuzvendra Chahal said, “I have been playing with him for around 6 years now since our RCB days. One thing I have learned is that he is a down to earth person. No matter how much fame he has got, he will take everyone with him — whether it’s personal or on field; that I have learned from him.”

I know that he’s a gym freak and how he has changed his body. I want to learn that from him. I have seen him since he was 18-19- the transformation after 2012 or 2013, if anyone adopts even 30 per cent of what Virat did, it’s more than enough.”

In a recent chat in the fifth episode of ‘The Mind Behind’,

Rahul was questioned which batsman he would pick if he had to select someone to bat for his life. In his reply, the 27-year-old named Kohli as his choice. “I’ll go with Virat because I know, everybody knows he is a great player,” he said. We share a great friendship and he will give it all to save my life”.

“Virat, Rohit (Sharma) or Ravi sir don’t come and teach you the game. They have given me that freedom,” said Hardik Pandya.

“The security that they gave me backing with all their heart helped big time. That was the reason I started taking decisions on my own,” he added

Being blatantly honest here, maximum of these quoted statements of the articles are published within the previous 24 hours only. And if I go on to find more instances to support the fact how great a leader this man is, I’d terribly fail cause there are umpteen number of incidents happening ever since the guy became the Test Captain in 2015 post World Cup and India’s full-time captain in early 2017 and there are a lot more bound to happen provided that he stays motivated & passionate, which I know, you know, whole of India knows and the entire cricketing fraternity knows too, that he would and the blessings from the God keep outpouring.

Kohli smashed his 28th ODI ton with a stunning knock of 111* off 115 deliveries during the 5th India Vs West Indies ODI on 6th July, 2017 in Jamaica while chasing 206.

However, one is always in the learning phase and never *The know-it-all* or *The Perfect* and Virat has always continued to keep this thing in mind, neglecting the impact of rankings on his game & mindset, but at the same time, staying grounded and expressing gratitude for the achievements. He is always keen to explore, learn more and improve consistently without thinking of the results cause they automatically follow if the process is done rightly and the intention is to drive the team forward.
Let’s hear the man himself post he won all the 3 ICC awards in 2018.
https://www.facebook.com/icc/videos/363263704471608/?app=fbl

From Chubby Cheeku to Virat THE FITNESS FREAK Kohli

Virat Prem Nath Kohli who is currently captaining the Indian cricket team across all the 3 formats is not an unknown figure to any but is known majorly for his consistency, his unflagging hunger to outperform himself everytime, his aggression and intensive passion on the field and is always in talks because of the fitness regime that he follows. Let’s take a deeper dig into the Fitness Mantra the sportsman has not only followed himself but also continued to advocate, over the years, amongst his fellow counterparts and the young enthusiasts who wish to play the sport at an international level.

We are all well familiar with the Chubby Cheeku who led the Indian side to a victorious 2008 U-19 World Cup. Often he is bombarded with questions from the curious interviewers as to how did he manage to transform so miraculously? To which his answer is subtle yet sublime. He says that the realisation hit back in 2012 when during the IPL months, he realised, looking at himself in the mirror, that this is not how an international cricketer should look like. That’s where the journey to transform began mentally for him. Nextly, the diet had to change and the Delhi-born Punjabi Munda made a firm decision to give up on his all-time favourite Chole Bhature and other delicacies. The first three months were dreadful. Virat told Jatin Sapru in an interview for Star Sports that he had to eat boiled Kabuli chana and for a person whose taste buds are accustomed to having spicy food, it was no less than a disaster. But he didn’t give it up then, despite the temptations, knowing in his head that this shall soon become a habit and get easier and is now reaping the fruits, which the whole sporting world is a witness of.

JW Marriott Hotel, Pune in 2017
Kohli with Shankar Basu

We have heard Virat giving away the major credit to Shankar Basu, on several occasions, who was his fitness coach working with him in RCB. Although, Virat was initially quite reluctant to lift weights due to sustaining back issues and do the other types of exercises to strengthen the lower body, he kept following Mr Basu’s instructions and soon felt the body exceeding its previous limits. He was able to run swiftly between the wickets and during fielding, the match recovery was happening quickly and everything else seemed to fall in place. It’s more of a mental struggle than it is physically. The mindset has to be right and the energy has to be channelized towards the bigger picture, which for him, has always been the victory of the team and not individual milestones. And that is the major reason behind why the transformation happened so smoothly. Virat has truly been an epitome of relentless towards fitness because to him, it isn’t any special or out of the box thing, but a basic requirement of his job. He has been very strict with his nutritional intake to such an extent that if he would feel really drained out post big innings in a test match, he only affords to have a gluten-free dark chocolate bar to ensure just enough supply of energy and speeden up the recovery process for the next day. No Sweets please!!! He has always been so adamant about his exercising routines even during this lockdown which his social media profiles are a living proof of and all of that requires a lot of self control, dauntlessness and that desire to always be one of the bests in the world, which for sure he has become.

Taking inspiration from him are many, his teammates like Dhawan, Ashwin etc , the younger players like Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Navdeep Saini, Shubman Gill etc are repeatedly seen acknowledging their captain for raising the bar and being a constant source of motivation to them and so many other future-cricketers of India. “Virat Kohli is like lion, his hunger is never-ending”, Shreyas Iyer was quoted as saying. The admiration and appreciation is not just confined to the junior lot but also a lot of senior players like Sachin Tendulkar and Sir Vivian Richards regard Kohli for bringing about a fitness revolution in not just India but globally and across all sports.

We are proud of you Captain Kohli for setting such a high benchmark in terms of keeping fit which has only taken Indian Cricket forward and we at Eduindex News wish you and your Indian Cricket Team all the very best for the forthcoming matches.