The G.O.A.T. : Numbers and Beyond

Cricket Kohli fan

Like most people in the cricket-crazy nation, I am also a cricket fan and try to watch all the cricket matches when possible (though to a less extent after November 19, 2023 :p).

I will now retract my statement - now I'm a Kohli fan, not a cricket fan—as I just said above. Probably because the loss on 19th hit me too hard, and I thought that there is no point in attaching myself emotionally with the game if I have nothing to gain (and a lot to lose at times) when team India wins or loses a match. I just check the scorecard occasionally now.

India has produced a number of cricket legends, but a name whom I feel that stands out and inspires me a lot is Virat Kohli. His numbers do stand out, there is no denying that, but there is a lot more than just numbers due to which I admire him.

Beyond numbers

He has a lot of records to his name. Everyone knows that.

Let me tell you one thing: I don't admire him because of his numbers. The reason I admire him is because of his value system, work ethic, dedication and self-belief.

I would be covering only the main things - if I write everything - the piece would be insanely long.

Podcasts

These days, I enjoy listening to podcasts and interviews of famous personalities on Spotify, as they always have something or the other to learn and imbibe, how the greats reached where they are today.

One particular series that is quite good and worth watching is In Depth with Graham Bensinger. For those who don't know, Graham Bensinger is a well-known American journalist and entrepreneur. He has interviewed many greats of various sports and even won an Emmy for his interview with Mike Tyson.

His 1hr interview with Kohli covers various aspects and lessons from his life story.

There are many more as well available on YouTube and Spotify, but this one stood apart from all what I have listened to.

Just search "Virat Kohli" on YouTube or Spotify, and you will find many such inspiring speeches by him.

Missing a match is like a sin for me. Cricket is my utmost priority

18 December, 2006. Kohli was batting for Delhi against Karnataka. 40 not out overnight, his team in a tough situation.

Little did he know that his world would change forever that night.

His father, who wanted to see his son play for the country and achieve heights in the game, was no more.

He made a bold decision then - that he would play. It was his father's dream to watch him play for his country, and he wanted to fulfil that.

Not only did he play, but he scored a 90 to save his team from a follow-on and saved the match.

"From now on, cricket is the most important thing for me in my life, and everything else is a second priority. I am going to play for my country, I am going to play this game at the highest level, and there would be nothing that would distract me from doing so." was what he told his brother that day.

There's no point in competing if we don't want to be the best

A self-driving hunger, to reach the top. That is what his numbers show.

Take any record, he might have broken it. Name any bowler, he would've been smashed by him numerous times. Name any country, he has numerous runs and numbers there.

Behind those numbers, there is a story of tireless striving and countless failures behind it.

"I don't want to be just another player in the team. I want to be a player which the opponent would think that, He would take the match away from us. We need to get his wicket else we might lose the match." were his exact words when asked by Graham Bensinger, the podcast I mentioned above.

Learning from failures

2014 England Tour. 134 runs in 1o innings. (This score is expected in a single innings from a player of his stature but failures happen with everyone)

James Anderson, his arch-nemesis in that tour. The moving and swinging ball was his Achilles heel. 

After that tour, he probably hit the lowest point in his life in terms of mental health. He himself said, "I couldn't think of what to say to anyone, and felt like the loneliest guy in the world".

The next tour - Australia - he learnt from his failures, and scored 692 runs.

Fast forward four years - England tour, 2018. The first innings of the first match -Kohli scored 149 runs - 15 more that his combined tally against the same opponent at the same venue.

End result - he scored a whopping 593 runs in the 10 innings, 200+ more than the second-highest tally.

Kevin Pietersen, in an interview, when asked, said that Kohli in 2014 wanted to play every ball. In 2018, he knew which ball to leave and which to face, and he became much more patient.

Ashamed in front of the mirror

2011 Australia. Kohli was having the form of his life. Winning his maiden World Cup, scoring runs in Australia against the toughest bowlers where everyone else failed.

But achievements get over the head at times. The same happened to him.

A young guy achieving stardom at the highest level, partying hard, eating hard, sleeping late, and totally carried away, indisciplined in terms of training and diet. 

"When I looked at myself in the mirror after an IPL 2012 match, I was ashamed. You can't look like this if you want to play at the highest level."

The next day, he gave up everything - off wheat, off gluten, off deserts, a daily fitness routine for 2 hours, no cheat day, a week off.

"For the first few days, I was really craving the taste and feeling so hungry and felt like eating the bedsheet at times. But after a few days, I felt so lighter and faster on the field, and much more focused, and it became such an addiction." "Man, that is the path I would love to walk."

A few years later - he himself admitted that he can't relate to that guy now.

Visualization, for me, is everything

Smashing the hardest bowlers is something that Kohli has been doing quite consistently.

Everyone in the team practices, but no one is able to match Kohli.

The secret behind it is visualising yourself.

Before every tour, he used to visualize since the 2-3 months before the tour - smashing the toughest bowlers in their own backyard.

Whenever you visualize achieving even the toughest of dreams, without any doubt, you eventually achieve it. A perfect testament to that.

Edit: Now I retract my statement once again :p - I love cricket and irrespective of condition, support the Indian Cricket team.