Virat Kohli is not just a myth, but a fact, as is evident by his performance, be it with the bat or his leadership qualities. Furthermore, it is his bold personality that has made India one of the most feared sides in world cricket today.
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It was owing to Kohli's this very personality, former Australian skipper Greg Chappell had said, "Kohli is the most Australian non-Australian cricketer of all time". Meanwhile, Kohli spoke on his character, saying that it is a representation of the new India now and in the coming days.
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"Firstly, I would like to say that I have always been myself. The way my personality and character is, I think it is a representation of the new India. And for me, that's how I look at it. It's not as such in my mind a comparison to me being similar to Australian mindset or anything like that," Kohli said during a virtual press conference on Wednesday, ahead of the first Test against Australia, in Adelaide.
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"For me, it's how we have started to stand up as the Indian cricket team. And, my personality has always been this way 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 up and ready for any challenges that come our way," Kohli added.
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Kohli was also wary of the fact that Australians do acknowledge the ones who come up with a tremendous performance, especially in their land. "I have been touring this place for many years now, and it is a wonderful place to play cricket. When you perform well here, you earn the respect of the public. Obviously, there will be anticipation and chat around wanting to see you play. Similarly, with Jasprit [Bumrah] as well. Last time around, he performed really well here. There is obviously going to be anticipation and excitement around him to watch him bowl. Similarly, for me, I have been coming here for many years," he opined.
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"For us, more importantly, it is all about the general public wanting to see India perform as a team, which was the highlight of our last tour as well. Our focus remains that. All the external things are not in our control. That is great for the publicity of the series, but the focus truly and simply remains on how well we can perform as a team here," reckoned Kohli.
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Kohli would lead India just for the opening Test, before he leaves for home ahead of the birth of his first child, with Bollywood wife, Anushka Sharma. As Ajinkya Rahane would lead upon Kohli's absence, who does not have the same bold personality as the latter, Kohli promises that the intensity won't die down despite his unavailability.
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"We have had a lot of mutual understanding and respect over the years. We have had great partnerships batting together, which is based on trust and understanding of what is needed for the team. Jinks has done a tremendous job in the two practice games. He seems to be very composed and he knows the strengths of our team, and how we need to go about things," Kohli evaluated.
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"Actually, the way that we have played our cricket has been a collective effort of the whole team. It is a cultural effort and not only down to me strategising things and putting things in front of people. It is the whole team that has bought into it. They already know the template we play with and how we want to go about things. We are absolutely on the same page," continued Kohli.
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"I am sure he will do a tremendous job in my absence as well, but the focus remains till the time I am here to provide captaincy and leadership, and performances as a player to the best of my abilities and then, from then on, I am pretty confident that Jinks will do a tremendous job. I have said this before that I feel like this is his time to really step up and perform strongly as an individual and then, captain as well," Kohli concluded.
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