Kohli: “My personality reflects the new India” | Cricket and more

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

In a context that evokes the Australian spirit, Virat Kohli has rejected the label of being the most “Australian” non-Australian player. Instead, he prefers to identify as a representative of a “new India”, which “faces” all challenges. The reception Kohli has received on his tour of Australia has been unprecedented, with former test players, newspapers, and television stations focusing 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, however, feels comfortable being himself. “Firstly, I would like to say that I have always been myself,” Kohli stated. “The way my personality and character are, I think it’s a representation of the new India. And for me, that’s how I see it. It’s not so much a comparison to my Australian-like mentality or anything like that.” “For me, it’s the way we’ve started to stand out as the Indian cricket team. And my personality has always been like this since 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. “I have 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 expectation and conversation around wanting to see you play. Similarly, also with Jasprit Bumrah. The last time he was here, he performed very well. Obviously, there will be expectation and excitement to see him bowl. Similar to me, I have been coming 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 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 take 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 than Kohli, but the India captain promised similar intensity once he leaves. “We’ve had a lot of understanding and mutual respect over the years,” Kohli said of his vice-captain. “We’ve had great partnerships batting together, which are based on trust and understanding of what’s needed for the team. Jinks has done a tremendous job in the two practice matches. He seems very calm and knows the strengths of our team and how we should approach things.” “Actually, the way we’ve played our cricket has been a collective effort of the whole team. It’s a cultural effort and not just mine, the one of strategizing and presenting things to people. It’s the whole team that has joined in. They already know the template with which we play and how we want to approach things. We are absolutely on the same page.” “I’m sure he’ll 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 as best I can, and from then on I’m pretty sure Jinks will do a tremendous job. I’ve said before that I feel this is his moment to really step up and perform strongly as an individual and also as a captain.”