How An Unfortunate Incident Turned Virat Kohli From Boy To A Matured Person
Virat Kohli (X.com)
One of the greatest players in modern-day cricket, Virat Kohli doesn’t need any introduction. Back in the days, when he made his debut for the Indian team, the young Virat had a lot of hunger and spark in his eyes.
It soon translated into match-winning performances. In a few years, the world started believing that this guy wasn’t just an average cricketer. He was meant to achieve greatness. The Delhi boy lived up to the hype and began helping the team win matches single-handedly, and Virat's records speaks for himself.
He soon took over India’s captain from Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the longest format and India became a force to be reckoned with in Test cricket. Under him, India began winning Test matches in SENA countries, and, playing to draw the Test was no longer an option.
With him at the helm of affairs, the fitness standards improved. Virat Kohli also led the team in white-ball format and boasted of an outstanding record in limited-overs cricket. He is, currently, 35 years old but still is one of the fittest cricketers in the Indian team.
It’s tough to believe but India’s run-machine has surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to hold the record for hitting the most number of centuries in ODIs. In his international cricket career, he has played 292 ODIs and has scored 13,848 runs. In 113 Tests, he has amassed 8848 runs at an average of close to 50.
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Virat’s life hinged totally on cricket after his father’s demise- Saroj Kohli
Having said that Virat Kohli wasn’t always among the fittest cricketers in the cricketing world. Back in the early days, he used to be a chubby guy with a passion for representing the nation. There were also doubts over whether he would be able to make it into the Indian team. However, the turning point came when his father passed away in 2006 due to a brain stroke at 2 am.
Virat Kohli was plying his trade for Delhi’s Ranji side at that time. He was batting overnight but gathered the strength to go back the next day and play a superb 90-run knock.
In an interview with TOI, Virat Kohli’s mother saw a change in Virat Kohli’s mindset since that day.
"My husband passed away in his sleep at around 2 in the morning. Virat was in two minds about whether to play or not. Rajkumar Sharma (Virat’s coach since his childhood) who was in Australia then advised him not to let go off a chance since it is so difficult to make it to the team. It was difficult for Virat. He came directly to the funeral after his knock of 90. He was wrongly given out. I remember that too." she said.
"Virat changed a bit after that day. Overnight he became a much more matured person. He took every match seriously. He hated being on the bench. It’s as if his life hinged totally on cricket after that day. Now, he looked like he was chasing his father’s dream which was his own too." she added.
That unfortunate incident shaped Virat Kohli’s career and he went to become one of the greats of the game.
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