Watch: Virat Kohli opens up about 'complications' of not scoring big to head coach Rahul Dravid
Virat Kohli struggled considerably with the bat for the last three years before returning to his rhythm. Meanwhile, he has opened up about the "complications" he faced with Indian head coach Rahul Dravid.
FollowIndia's star batter Virat Kohli has admitted that not being able to make any substantial contribution to team India's cause for a long time was "eating him up", and he let the expectations overwhelm him a bit because he was desperate to score a big Test hundred. Kohli hit a splendid 186 against Australia in the drawn fourth Test, ending a three-year wait for his 28th Test century.
In a conversation with head coach Rahul Dravid, the 34-year-old Kohli revealed that the weight of expectations became challenging for him. "Honestly, I've let the complications grow on me a bit because of my shortcomings," Kohli told Dravid in the chat, the video of which was posted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on its website.
"The desperation to get to the three-figure mark is something that can grow on you as a batsman. I let that happen to me to a certain extent. But a flip side to it is I'm not a guy who is happy with 40-45. I take great pride in performing for the team," continued Kohli.
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"It's not like when Virat Kohli should stand out. When I'm batting on 40, I know I can get a 150. That was eating me up a lot. Why am I not able to get that big score for the team? Because I took pride in the fact that when the team needed me, I stood up, scoring in difficult conditions. The fact that I couldn't do that bothered me," Kohli added.
Asked by Dravid how tough it was, Kohli said, "If I've to be brutally honest, it does become a little difficult as the moment you step out of the hotel room, right from the guy outside, to the guy in the lift, the bus driver everyone is saying 'we want a hundred'."
"So, it does play on your mind all the time, but that's also the beauty of playing for so long to have these complications come up and overcome these challenges," Kohli remarked. Kohli dished out an uncharacteristic 364-ball innings, spanning more than eight hours and 30 minutes. It was his 75th international century across formats.
Dravid said he was also desperate to see the former skipper score that big hundred, but it was worth it in the end since Kohli delivered a master class. "I've seen him as a player, seen a lot of hundreds of him on TV, and after I took over the coach about 15-16 months ago, was a bit desperate to see him score a Test hundred and enjoy it from the comfort of the dressing room," he expressed.
"To be able to enjoy and relax a Test hundred. It was a beauty. You made me wait a long time, but watching an innings and how you constructed it was an absolute privilege," added Dravid. Before this match, Kohli's last Test century had come in India's maiden Day/Night Test against Bangladesh in November 2019.
Kohli insisted that he never "about the milestones". "A lot of people ask me, 'how do you keep scoring those hundreds'. And I always say a hundred is something that happens along the way within my goal, which is to bat as long as possible for my team," he declared.
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Kohli credited his fitness to bat in different ways, which helped him excel in all formats. "I can bat four sessions. I can bat five sessions. That's where fitness and physical preparation comes into play for me. I go into the field relaxed because I know I can bat in many ways. I am not desperate if I play three sessions and feel like I am breaking down, and I need to get fast runs; otherwise, I won't be able to stay out there for long," he sounded.
".....I am happy scoring 30 runs in a session, not hitting a boundary, and not being desperate because I know that boundaries will come and even if I have to play like this, I can bat six sessions and get a 150. I have no issue doing that," concluded Kohli.
(With inputs from PTI)
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