People don’t understand kind of things I have seen at young age: Kohli

People don’t understand kind of things I have seen at young age: Kohli: We are into the scorching summer of 2015. So now, finally begins a new chapter in the history of Indian cricket with the advent of the Kohli era in the penultimate format of the game. The new skipper in command: Virat Kohli who rose to the national ranks in 2008, after leading Indian under-19 team to the silverware in Kuala Lampur, has made gigantic leaps and bounds in the international arena. Now, he will be taking over the full time test captaincy and his first assignment will be the the tour of Bangladesh which begins from the 10th of this month.

In a candid conversation with ESPNCricinfo digital magazine, Virat Kohli spoke in length on topics ranging from his vision in test arena to his relationship with Bollywood fame Anushka Sharma. From his passion on the cricket field to the difficult times off the field. This man has seen it all.

The new Indian skipper has already set his sights to lead his country into what he transpires as the team with fierce domination and the possession of invariably unbreakable bonds.
“I strongly want to see the Indian team dominate for at least five or six years,” Kohli told the Cricket Monthly. “We certainly have the talent. We certainly have the ability. All that it will take is how you manage that and keep them together.”

“I want to create strong bonds. I want to create strong friendships in this unit. We live 250-280 days a year together so I want to create such an atmosphere where in the next ten years watching it from outside you would get to know this team is a united team. This team is a strongly knit unit. They want to play for each other. They don’t want to play for themselves. That is my vision.”

The champion player who matured overnight in his life after the passing away of his father, had his roller coaster journey of ups and downs in life. Mind you, after the death of his father he came out to bat in a Ranji tie against Karnataka and stitched a valuable 90 for his side prior to attending the funeral of his father ,which won him many plaudits and accolades all around.

He insisted that “Not many people understand the kind of things I have seen in life at a very young age. Maybe that is why I believe in myself a lot. I think if I did not have belief, I would not be able to build my career all these years.”

“Bad times will come but it makes you want to look forward to the good times that lie ahead, as well as appreciate the good times that you have had in your life and career. Respect the bad times when they come and not be broken by it.

Virat made his intentions pretty clear about the brand of cricket which we are going to witness in the coming years when the Indian team dons the white jersey. The test skipper said that he wants to endorse the same brand of cricket with which the Australian side has dominated the world cricket for eras with a sparkling hope that he produces the right results for his country as well. “We like playing the same brand of cricket,” he stated.

He also made it clear that he is that sort of captain who bats for his players and backs the players at the time when the going gets tough. The thing that I want to do and I can do in Test matches is free them from any kind of doubt. Free them from any kind of insecurity… On the field if you see them [Australia] play you feel like, ‘damn, that’s a unit, we really have to play our bloody best to beat these guys’. I want that to happen to Indian cricket. In Test matches we want to be the team to beat. It is just the mindset, sometimes we tend to go into that zone where the thinking is not right.

Before leaving for the Australian tour down under, he got to know that he would be leading his side in the first test at Adelaide in the absence of Dhoni. At that time also, he was damn vocal about what he wants from the side which is a testimony of his leadership credentials. He is a very passionate guy who hates losing and has a burning desire to win it for India whenever he takes the field. He recalls that “It was in the manager’s room at the team hotel before we flew to Australia. I told the guys if anyone sitting in the room is thinking I am going to Australia to get two hundreds, I am going to Australia to get three five-wicket hauls, he can be open about it now and he needs to change the mindset… If you are good enough and have the skills, you are out there in a competition to win or lose. Draw is the last resort. I don’t mind risking a loss to win a game. I wanted us to play aggressive cricket.”

He also recollects that extravagant moment, when that day arrived when he got to know that he will be filling Dhoni’s shoes in test arena permanently. It is a matter of utmost glory and pride when a player gets to captain his country in tests. And Kohli is no different, although it took him some time to get in terms with what is the daydream of any budding cricketer. He was equivocally shocked on the departure of his captain MS Dhoni under whom he blossomed.

Honestly, I was not able to think that I am going to be the Test captain now,” Kohli recalls the day. “After things calmed down a bit, I went to my room. Anushka [Sharma], who had come to watch that series, was there and I told her about the news. Her feelings were also mixed as to how did this happen so suddenly. Why did he [Dhoni] do this?

“After a while for both of us it sunk in that I am going to be Test captain of India, not just for one or two games, but permanently. And that is when I broke down, because I never expected this to happen. Honestly, if you asked me when I started playing cricket that at 26 year old will be Test captain of India… No chance. My only dream was to play Test cricket for India. It is amazing how all those feelings as a young kid, playing club cricket, playing school cricket, playing state cricket, all those memories start flashing in your head. It was surreal.”

Then came a difficult phase in his otherwise glorious career when the Indian team lost the semi-final of the World Cup 2015. Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma who happens to be the lady love of his life was widely held as responsible for his lacklusture performances and was crucified and trolled by many on various social networking sites. Kohli was livid with such a crazy reaction from the public.

The 26 year old said: “It might not necessarily be only in our case, where she [Anushka] was accused of everything,” Kohli said. “It was just sad to see that happening, the way people reacted. It is in every walk of life. It is how a certain set of people think in our country and are ready and willing to blame the woman for everything that goes wrong.”

He also shared some of the beautiful things which he loves about his girlfriend. “If she likes a particular moment in the game she will ask what I was thinking at that point, because for us it looked like this, but for you what was it like?” – but enjoyed not talking about it even more. “We do talk a little bit, but the best part is she does not force me to talk about cricket… Which is amazing.”