Virat Kohli: The Representation of a New India in Cricket
In a stance reminiscent of the Australian attitude, Virat Kohli has refused to be labeled as “the most Australian non-Australian.” He prefers to define himself as a representative of a “new India” that “faces up” to all challenges. The reception Kohli has received on this tour of Australia has been unprecedented, with former Test players, newspapers, and television stations focusing on Kohli and the impact of his absence in the three Test matches he will not play.Kohli, however, feels comfortable being himself.Kohli is the most Australian non-Australian cricketer of all time.
Greg Chappell
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 prepared for any challenge that comes our way. Kohli acknowledged that Australia, as a country, welcomes those who perform well on its soil.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 something like that.
Virat Kohli
I’ve been touring this place for many years and it’s a wonderful place to play cricket. When you play well here, you earn the respect of the public. Obviously, there will be anticipation and conversation around wanting to see you play. Similarly with Jasprit Bumrah as well. The last time he was here he played very well. Obviously, there will be anticipation and excitement around him to see him bowl. Similar to me, I’ve been coming here for many years.
Virat Kohli
For us, the most important thing is that the general public wants to see India perform as a team, which was the highlight of our last tour as well. Our focus remains on that. All external things are not under our control. That’s great for the publicity of the series, but the real focus and simply 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 hog all the attention. That’s true for the man who will take over the team when Kohli leaves. Ajinkya Rahane has a completely different personality from Kohli, but the India captain promised similar intensity once he leaves.
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 joined in. 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, leadership, and player performances, the best I can, and from there 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 also as a captain.We have had a lot of understanding and mutual respect over the years. We have had great partnerships playing 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.
Virat Kohli
