Test cricket has made Virat Kohli a better person, said the Indian captain himself as he went about expressing his love for the game's traditional format. Kohli believes the Test match game best represents life where you don't have the option of giving up and must survive the difficult periods to be able to eventually come out triumphant.
"Test cricket, Test cricket, Test cricket, Test cricket and Test cricket. I have said it five times," said the 31-year-old when asked which is his favourite format by former England batsman Kevin Pietersen during an Instagram live session.
"Because it is the representation of life. Whether you get runs or not, you have to clap when others are batting. You have to go back to your room, get up and come the next day."
"You have to follow the routine whether you like it or not. It's like life where you don't have the option of not competing. Test cricket has made me a better person," added Kohli, who has now played 86 Tests for India with 7,240 runs at an average of 53.63, including 27 hundreds.
Pietersen, once a great Test batsman himself, appreciated Kohli's love for the five-day version and lauded how he criticised the idea of four-day Test cricket floated to cut down costs by various ICC full-member boards.
"I was called for a debate and I told them that if Virat Kohli doesn't want four day Tests, it's not happening," said Pietersen as Kohli burst into laughter.
On a different note, Kohli is "filled with gratitude" for his comfortable life seeing a turbulent world around him because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
"I am grateful God that I have a place to live at a time when people are struggling for jobs. You just want to sit back and reflect," he said. "You are filled with gratitude. We should never sit back and complain about what we don't have."
Kohli's aggressive demeanour polarises opinions, with a certain section not particularly pleased by his in-your-face attitude while the other enjoys it. However, there is one player who he said he'll never sledge, for there is just too much respect between the two.
"IPL has done a lot in terms of respecting each other. I would never ever be able to do it (sledging) with AB (De Villiers). There is a friendship that lasts much longer than all these things," he said about the great South African, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) under Kohli's leadership.
De Villiers is also one of the two batsmen Kohli genuinely loves batting with, the other, of course, is his former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
"I enjoy batting with those who understand my running between the wickets," he said. "You have to understand my calls. I have enjoyed batting with MS and with AB, we don't even need to call as we look at each other and we know."
(Inputs from PTI)
