'Outside people thought it was abnormal, but not for me' - Virat Kohli on his high intensity

Virat Kohli is back and he would be all geared up to take on the best teams of the continent as India look to defend their Asia Cup title. Their very first assignment will be against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, August 28. Meanwhile, Kohli will be back in action on the cricket field after more than a month.

Kohli might be going through a rough patch as his wait for a 71st international century has been going on since November 2019, but that has not bothered him from keeping his positive intent intact and the batter still believes that there is plenty of cricket left in him. He said that he would continue to give his best on the field instead of getting distracted by the critics and losing focus.

“I am a person who wakes up and feels like ‘ok let’s see what the day has for me’, and be a part of everything that I am doing through the day with absolute presence, involvement and happiness. That’s who I have always been,” said Kohli while speaking in a video posted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on their official Twitter handle.

Up close and personal with @imVkohli!

Coming back from a break, Virat Kohli speaks about the introspection, the realisation and his way forward! 👍

Full interview coming up on https://t.co/Z3MPyeKtDz 🎥

Watch this space for more ⌛️ #TeamIndia | #AsiaCup2022 | #AsiaCup pic.twitter.com/fzZS2XH1r1

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 27, 2022

I love the fact that I have so much to contribute every ball: Virat Kohli

“People ask me a lot ‘How do you do this on the field and how do you carry on with so much intensity?’. I just tell them that I love playing the game, I love the fact that I have so much to contribute every ball and I would give every inch of my energy on the field and for me it never felt abnormal.

“A lot of people on the outside watched me – and even within the team  – they ask me how do you keep up with it and I just said one simple thing ‘I want to make my team win at any cost’ and if that means that I am gasping for breath and walk off the field, so be it. That’s the kind of preparation I go through to be able to play like that,” he added.

Kohli has already scored back-to-back half-centuries against Pakistan (T20 World Cups 2016 and 2021) and would be hoping to complete a hat-trick when both sides meet this Sunday.