‘Everyone Had My Contact Number, But He Was The Only One To Text When I Left Captaincy’ – Virat Kohli

In Asia Cup 2022, India lost against Pakistan in a thriller at Dubai International Stadium. Chasing a target of 182, the opposition came with a better reply and managed to get a 5-wicket victory over India.

However, for India, the highlight of the match was the sensational knock of Virat Kohli who scored 60 runs off 44 balls with the help of 4 fours and one six. This fifty was a tight slap to those who were criticizing Kohli and also suggested he leave cricket. Many of them raised a question about his batting skill, while others talked about his captaincy capabilities.

After the match against Pakistan, Virat Kohli first time attended a press conference, and during that he made a shocking revelation that left everyone stunned.

Kohli said, “I can tell you one thing. And that is when I left Test captaincy, I got a message from only one person with whom I had played earlier, and that was MS Dhoni. This is when many people had my number. A lot of people gave suggestions on TV, and they have a lot to say but for all those who had my number, no one messaged me. So the thing is, when there is respect when you have a connection such as this, it shows because there is security both ways. I don’t want anything from him and neither does he. I have never been insecure of him and neither has he.”

He further added, “All I can say is that if I have to say something about someone, I reach out to him individually. If you give suggestions in front of the world, there is no value to it as per me because if it means to me and for my improvement, you can reach out to me one on one as well, like ‘I genuinely want that you do well. I live with a lot of honesty, so I can see these things. I won’t say that it doesn’t matter to me, but I can see the truth. That is the way I live.”

“I’ve played for 14 years, it doesn’t happen by chance. My job is to work hard on my game, something that I am always keen to do for the team and something that I continue to do. Everyone’s doing their job eventually, our job is to play the game, work hard, give our 120 percent and I’ve said it in the past that as long as I am doing that and the team has faith in that, what happens in the change room is the only thing that matters to us, and me personally,” he mentioned.

“People have their opinions and that’s fine but that doesn’t change my happiness as a person. I’ve taken some time away and put things in perspective. It’s given me kind of a relaxation that this is not the be-all and end-all of life. I need to enjoy the game, I can’t put so much pressure or expectation on myself, that I am not able to express myself. That is not why I started playing this game.

Kohli further added, “I was able to find that excitement back. And when I came here, the environment was very welcoming, the camaraderie with the boys was amazing, and the environment in the team was amazing. I am loving playing at the moment again and I am feeling good with the way I am batting.”