Virat Kohli is widely regarded as one of the greatest modern-day batters.
The right-hander also has 74 international centuries to his name – the second most in cricket history after the legendary Sachin Tendulkar (100).
While the numbers look dreamy, it hasn’t always been a smooth ride for Virat Kohli. Speaking on the first episode of RCB Podcast season 2, Kohli recalled the time when he feared getting dropped from the Indian team.
Virat admitted that he had arrived in Perth for a Test match against Australia in 2012 with the fear of losing his spot in the Indian team.
“When we arrived in Perth, at the first glimpse of the surface we knew that it was a very tough pitch to bat on as there was ample pace and bounce on offer. Not only were these two the solitary nightmares but to add to a batter’s woe, there was ample grass as well. And I knew that if I do not perform in this Test match, then there was no chance that I was playing the fourth. Probably, I will have to go back to first-class cricket and climb my way back to the top again,” Kohli stated.
“So I clearly remember, when I left Sydney, there was a lot of vitriol. Especially when you lose the first two Test matches of a series in Australia, the whole environment becomes very tense. Everyone is obviously feeling a lot of pressure and when it is your first tour to Australia and you see everyone feeling a lot of pressure around, you think that I have got no chance here,” he added.
“It is because the whole team is feeling like that and I am the most inexperienced. How am I going to turn this around? I remember that in that adverse situation, I kind of got a resilience. I told myself, ‘Hold on. Maybe I can be different if I think different. So I went into my own space. Spent a lot of time by just walking around by myself. I sat in a coffee shop too. I remember, every time I stepped into the bus or was in a practice session, I always had my music on. I kept telling myself that I have got 8 ODI hundreds by the time. I told myself that I am good enough to play at this level. I told myself if I can get 8 hundreds in ODI cricket, I can manage this as well,” he continued.
As it turned out, Virat Kohli returned with scores of 48 and 75 in the Perth Test to retain his spot in the Indian team.
“I kept telling myself that I am good enough and I can do it. I ended up scoring 48 in the first innings and 75 in the second in that Test match, braving conditions that were extremely tough. I was the highest run-getter in that Test match for us. That made me believe that the power of visualization and belief in yourself is so huge, we never fully tap into the potential like that. But when you really put out all the distractions in the side, when you believe in yourself, is when you do something that is not perceivable for people on the outside. That was a big lesson for me,” the former India skipper said.