Kohli said this dynamic shift leaves little room for error, requiring players to constantly adapt under pressure.
Speaking on the RCB podcast, Kohli said this dynamic reality leaves little room for error, requiring players to constantly adapt under pressure.
Kohli further stated that he used to view trophies purely as individual accolades and career targets. With time, he realized the true value of sport lies in the deep, collective emotional journey it provides.
“I started off thinking of trophies as accolades and achievements. But at the end of the day, why do people get so involved and engrossed, say for a semi-final or final? I think the opportunity to win a competition in itself feels like a very difficult thing to achieve, right? And when it’s difficult, and people feel like it might or might not happen, the connection and intensity with which they watch goes 10 levels higher,” Kohli said.
“While you are playing and you are creating an impact, because so many people are watching together, it’s not only about winning the trophy, it’s about what they feel when they watch you play. Even though they haven’t contributed in the game, the impact you feel as a spectator when I’m acting from the dugout - I’m feeling those emotions when I’m watching a Krunal play under pressure. And that just creates an energy inside you which is very difficult to explain. You feel like there’s a buzz again, you feel like, oh man, this was phenomenal. I feel inspired looking at these kinds of moments,” he elaborated.
Kohli then recalled his conversation with KL Rahul about how the T20 format now feels completely different from what it used to be.
“He said, it feels like a different game altogether. It’s not even a different format. Because every ball is an intense event. The momentum can shift in every ball of the game. It’s almost like you’re playing a high-intensity Champions League football game where one bad pass or one slip and the whole competition is done,” Kohli said.
Kohli specifically praised the "through the roof" talent and hand-eye coordination of younger players, noting their immense confidence in their own abilities.
“The talent is through the roof. Their hand-eye coordination and the confidence they have in those abilities is outstanding. It’s lovely for people to watch. It’s great for the game.”
At the same time, he argued that modern T20 still leaves room for classical methods. “There are different ways to achieve the same goals,” Kohli said. “Everyone has their own way of playing the game. Greame Smith, for example, we felt like it’s very difficult for him to hit the ball through the offside with a straight bat, but through the onside, he was unbeatable. And if you look at his record, he was a very successful Test player, very successful Test captain.”
Kohli emphasized that players with more traditional, classical foundations—such as himself, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Bhuvi), and KL Rahul—still find ways to be highly effective and consistent.
“It’s not like an AB de Villiers kind of, you know, everything aligned and just perfection. Not like a Sachin Tendulkar, where the bat’s coming down absolutely in a straight line. But people have found ways to succeed who have not had those kinds of abilities or that kind of way to play the game. It’s lovely for people to watch. It’s great for the game. At the same time, you have an opportunity for, say, players like myself, Bhuvi, and KL. KL, for example, for that matter. He’s doing great things, you know, again in T20 cricket.”
Kohli mentioned that technical foundations of cricket such as balance, technique, and repeatable skills are essential for longevity.
“There are certain technicalities of the game that will never go out of fashion. You need technique. You need balance. You need some kind of symmetry to play this game. And because we’ve worked on those technical aspects for so long in our lives, from very young, because we aspired to play Test cricket and the technical foundation was the be-all and end-all for us - when you have technical abilities in place, you can always adjust.”
Kohli pointed to Bhuvneshwar as prime example whose success in faster formats is rooted in the discipline and repeatable execution learned while growing up.
“What is Bhuvi doing? He's not bowling banana in-swingers, banana out-swingers. He is bowling at a length that is telling the guys, 'I am good enough to hit this length every time. It is the most difficult length to hit. And I'm just going to keep hitting this length. Are you good enough to take me on or not?’ It's simple stuff. It's repetition. Its execution. It's uncomplicated consistency backed with tremendous belief. That's all he's doing. And look at the results.
“He's got six three-wicket hauls in 11 games. That's crazy. He's not even going at eight this season, you know.
“He's not playing all year round. He is not grinding through franchise tournaments on every continent. He is just someone who has spent a lifetime learning one thing very well, and then doing it. The belief he has in his abilities because of the work he's done from a childhood age of eight, nine years old to now - those foundations will always hold him in good stead."