Enjoy Batting With MS Dhoni and AB de Villiers the Most: Virat Kohli

Speaking to former England batsman and IPL teammate Kevin Pietersen during an Instagram live session, India captain Virat Kohli touched upon his plenty of topics including passion for Test cricket, the worst phase of his career, how he turned into a vegan and his favourite batting partners.
On being an aggressive captain:

“There is bit of crazy up here as well (in his head). When I played under MS (Dhoni) I was in his ear every moment. I wanted to be at the right place at the right time, I would even run from long on to long on. I don’t think I need to behave differently because I am a captain. I can’t play any other way. I made a promise, the day I stop feeling like that I will stop.



“For me the most important thing is how can I contribute to help team win. That mindset should never change. Lot of things people say to stir things up in India, but you have to block the noise and make most of the opportunity in front of you,” he added.

India’s problems overseas:

“Earlier, we used to play every 3-4 years in England. In India, you guys come every year for IPL. But now with so much tour and cricket, we don’t feel we are playing in alien conditions. Anyone can beat anyone anywhere. We feel the same in terms of conditions. Now it’s all about fatigue and mindset.”

On turning vegetarian:

“In 2018, during the tour of South Africa, I got a cervical spine issue. I could barely feel my little finger and I coundn’t sleep as the body was acidic, my stomach started pulling calcium from my bones and my bones got weaker.

“I cut down uric acid from my body and I left meat. That is the best decision I have made in my life. I have never felt better waking up. Now I can play 3 games a week and can recover within a day after a Test match and go on another.”

On his favourite format:

“Test cricket, Test cricket, Test cricket, Test cricket, Test cricket, I have said it five times.

“For me, it is the representation of life. You got to keep going when u don’t score runs, you go back in your hotel room and again get ready the next day. It is life. It has made me a better person.”

On fatigue:

“I have been taking breaks. I felt Last 2-3 seasons ago that I was playing too much. Then I missed a few ODI and T20Is, I didn’t want to miss out on Test cricket. I have been playing three formts for 9 years now with IPL. Then captancy for 6 years. It’s not easy. I will give it all for next 2-3 years and then will see what format to play and all after next World Cup.”

Lowest point in career:

“England tour in 2014 was the lowest point in my career. I felt like as a batsman you know you will get out. I still had to get out of bed and get dressed knowing I would fail. It demolished me and I promised I will never allow myself to think like that. I was too focused on doing well from personal point of view. I was too focused on scoring runs in England and thinking I would ‘arrive’ in Test cricket and all that.”

On favourite batting partners:

“I enjoy batting with those who can run fast with me. So it has to be MS when we play for India together and AB when we play in the IPL for RCB. We don’t even talk while we are batting.”

On India being a top fielding side:

“I was lucky to be in the centre of transition. I got to see what we were lacking and what the world was doing and we needed to catch up. So I was lucky to play with plyeers who were on same page.”

On RCB not winning the IPL:

“We have reached three finals but haven’t won. We deserve to win a title. At RCB, we get talked about so much as we had stars. The more you think (about winning the IPL), the more it keeps running away from you. There have been added pressure lately but we need to just enjoy and not take pressure.”

On his nickname ‘chiku’:

“MS (Dhoni) has sort of made my nickname famous from behind the stumps. In the stumps’ mic, people pick up.

“I got this nickname from a coach in the Ranji Trophy. I used to have big cheeks then. In 2007, I thought I was losing hair. I got my hair cropped and my cheeks and ears stood out. I got the name from a cartoon character. The rabbit in the comic book Champak.”