Kohli: “My personality reflects the new India” in cricket

Virat Kohli: The Representative of “New India” in Cricket

In a tone reminiscent of the Australian attitude, Virat Kohli has rejected the label of being the “most un-Australian Australian”. Instead, he identifies as a representative of a “new India” that faces all challenges with determination. The reception Kohli has received on this tour of Australia has been unprecedented. Former Test players, newspapers, and television stations are only talking about Kohli and the impact his absence will have on the three Test matches he will not play.

Kohli is the most Australian non-Australian cricketer of all time.

Greg Chappell

However, Kohli feels comfortable being himself. “First of all, I would like to say that I have always been myself. The way my personality and character are, I think it is a representation of the new India. And for me, that’s how I see it. It’s not so much in my mind a comparison to being similar to the Australian mentality or anything like that,” Kohli stated. “For me, it’s about how we’ve started to support the Indian cricket team. And my personality has always been like this from day one. This for me is a representation of the new India, where we want to take on challenges and move forward with optimism and positivity and make sure we are ready for any challenge that comes our way.” Kohli acknowledged that Australia, as a country, embraces those who perform well on its soil. “I’ve been touring this place for many years and it’s a wonderful place to play cricket. When you perform well here, you earn the respect of the public. Obviously, there will be expectation and conversation around wanting to see you play. Similarly with Jasprit [Bumrah] as well. The last time he performed very well here. Obviously, there will be expectation and excitement around him to see him bowl. Similar to me, I’ve come here for many years.”

“For us, the most important thing is that the general public wants to see India perform as a team, which was also the highlight of our last tour. Our focus remains on that. All external things are not under our control. That’s great for the publicity of the series, but the true and simple focus remains on how well we can perform as a team here.” Knowing the Indian team, the others will be happy to go unnoticed and let Kohli take all the attention. That’s true for the man who will take charge of the team when Kohli leaves. Ajinkya Rahane has a completely different personality than Kohli, but the India captain promised a similar intensity once he leaves. “We have had a lot of understanding and mutual respect over the years. We have had great partnerships batting together, which are based on trust and understanding of what is needed for the team. Jinks has done a tremendous job in the two practice matches. He seems to be very calm and knows the strengths of our team and how we should do things,” Kohli said. “Actually, the way we’ve played our cricket has been a collective effort of the entire team. It’s a cultural effort and not just mine to strategize and present things to people. It’s the whole team that has embraced it. They already know the template we play with and how we want to do things. We are absolutely on the same page.” “I’m sure he’ll also do a tremendous job in my absence, but the focus remains on the time I’m here to provide captaincy and leadership and performances as a player in the best way possible and then, from then on, I’m pretty sure Jinks will do a tremendous job. I’ve said this before, I feel like this is his moment to really step up and perform strongly as an individual and then also as a captain.”