Virat Kohli: The Representative of a “New India” in Cricket
In a tone that evokes the Australian spirit, Virat Kohli has rejected the label of being the “most non-Australian Australian”. Instead, the cricket player prefers to identify himself as a representative of a “new India”, which faces all challenges with determination.
Kohli’s reception on his tour of Australia has been unprecedented. Former test players, newspapers, and television stations have focused their attention on 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
Kohli, for his part, feels comfortable being himself. “I have always been myself,” Kohli affirmed. “The way my personality and character are, I think it’s a representation of the new India. And that’s how I see it. It’s not a comparison with the Australian mentality or anything like that.”
“For me, it’s about how we’ve started to excel as the Indian cricket team. And my personality has always been like this from day one. This is for me 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 prepared for any challenge that comes our way,” he added.
Kohli acknowledged that Australia, as a country, opens its arms to 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,” Kohli said. “When you perform well here, you earn the respect of the public. Obviously, there will be anticipation and conversation around wanting to see you play. The same goes for Jasprit Bumrah. The last time he performed very well here. Obviously, there will be anticipation and excitement to see him bowl. The same goes for me, I’ve been coming here for many years.”Virat Kohli tiene varios asuntos que tratar antes de la serie de pruebas.“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. That’s what we’re focused on. All external things are not under our control. That’s great for the publicity of the series, but the focus remains true and simply 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 hog all the attention. That’s true for the man who will take the reins of the team when Kohli leaves. Ajinkya Rahane is a completely different personality from Kohli, but the India captain promised similar intensity once he leaves.
“We have had a lot of understanding and mutual respect over the years,” Kohli said of his vice-captain. “We have had great batting partnerships 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 very serene and knows the strengths of our team and how we should do things.”
“Actually, the way we’ve played cricket has been a collective effort of the whole team. It’s a cultural effort and not just mine, where I strategize and present things to people. It’s the whole team that has participated in 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 until the moment I’m here to provide captaincy and leadership and performances as a player in the best way possible, and from that moment on I’m pretty sure Jinks will do a tremendous job. I’ve already said before that I feel this is his moment to really step up and perform strongly as an individual and then also as a captain.”
