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

Virat Kohli Defines Himself as a Representative of the “New India”

In a stance reminiscent of the Australian attitude, Virat Kohli has refused to be labeled as the most “Australian” non-Australian player. Instead, he prefers to identify himself as a symbol of the “new India”, one that “stands up” to any challenge. The reception Kohli has received on this tour of Australia has been unprecedented. Test ex-players, newspapers, and television stations have dedicated their attention to Kohli and the impact his absence will have on the three Test matches in which he will not participate.

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

Greg Chappell

Kohli, however, was satisfied with his own identity. “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 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.” “For me, it’s how we’ve started to establish ourselves as 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, tends to embrace those who are successful on their 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 anticipation and conversation around wanting to see you play. Similarly to Jasprit [Bumrah] as well. The last time he was here he performed very well. Obviously, there will be anticipation and excitement around him to see him bowl. Similarly 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 series’ publicity, but the real 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 over the team when Kohli leaves. Ajinkya Rahane has a completely different personality than Kohli, but the India captain promised similar intensity once he’s gone. “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 do things.” “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, where I strategize and put things in front of people. It’s the whole team that has been involved. 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 do a tremendous job in my absence as well, but the focus remains on the time I’m here to provide captaincy and leadership and performances as a player as best I can and, from there, I’m pretty sure Jinks will do a tremendous job. I’ve said before that I feel this is his time to step up and perform strongly as an individual and also as a captain.”