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

In a tone that could be considered Australian, Virat Kohli has rejected the label of the “most un-Australian Australian”, preferring to define himself as a representative of a “new India” that “faces up” to all challenges. Kohli’s reception on this tour of Australia has been unprecedented, with former Test players, newspapers and television stations speaking exclusively about Kohli and the impact of his absence in the three Tests 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 commented. “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 in my mind a comparison to being similar to the Australian mentality or anything like that.” “For me, it’s about how we’ve started to stand up for 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’re ready for any challenge that comes our way.” Kohli acknowledged, however, that Australia, the country, opens its arms to those who do well in its lands. “I have been touring this place for many years, and it is 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 with Jasprit [Bumrah]. The last time he performed very well here. Obviously there is going to be expectation and excitement 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 publicity of the series, 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 charge of the team when Kohli leaves. Ajinkya Rahane has 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 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.” “Actually, the way we’ve played our cricket has been a collective effort from the entire team. It’s a cultural effort and not just mine to plan things and present them 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 is on the time he’s here to provide captaincy and leadership and performances as a player as best he can, and from then on I’m pretty sure Jinks will do a tremendous job. I’ve already said before that I feel this is his moment to step up and perform strongly as an individual and also as a captain.”