Virat Kohli: The Representative of a New India
In a tone reminiscent of the Australian attitude, Virat Kohli has refused to be labeled as the “most Australian non-Australian.” Instead, he identifies as a representative of a “new India,” one that “stands up” to all challenges. The welcome 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 Tests he will not play.However, Kohli feels comfortable being himself. “First of all, I would like to say that I have always been myself,” Kohli said. “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 anything like that.” “For me, it’s about how we’ve started to stand up 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 ready for any challenge that comes our way.” Kohli acknowledged that Australia, as a country, welcomes those who are successful on their lands. “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. Similarly to me, I’ve been coming here for many years.”Kohli is the most Australian non-Australian cricketer of all time.
Greg Chappell
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 that. All external things are not under our control. That’s great for the series’ publicity, but the real focus and simply remains 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 is 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 batting partnerships 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 of the whole 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 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 and leadership and performances as a player in the best way possible and, from then on, I’m pretty sure Jinks will do a tremendous job. I’ve already said before that I feel it’s his time to really step up and perform strongly as an individual and also as a captain.”
