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

In a tone reminiscent of Australian idiosyncrasy, Virat Kohli has rejected the label of being the “most Australian non-Australian”. Instead, he prefers to define himself as a representative of a “new India” that “stands its ground” in the face of any challenge. The reception Kohli has received on this tour of Australia has been unprecedented. Former Test players, newspapers, and television channels have focused their analysis on Kohli and the impact of his absence in 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 true to himself. “Firstly, I would like to say that I have always been myself,” Kohli declared. “The way my personality and character is, I think it’s a representation of the new India. And that’s how I see it. It’s not a comparison in my mind that I am similar to the Australian mentality or something 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 that 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 that Australia, as a country, welcomes 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 expectation and conversation around wanting to see you play. Similarly with Jasprit [Bumrah] as well. Last time he performed very well here. Obviously, there will be expectation and excitement around him to see him bowl. Similar to me, I’ve come 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’s leadership when Kohli leaves. Ajinkya Rahane has a completely different personality to 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 deputy. “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 approach 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 that strategizes and puts things in front of 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 on the time 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.”