Talismanic batter Virat Kohli on Sunday said milestones have never been his focus and that he is excited to ‘unlock a new version’ of himself at this stage of his career, after becoming only the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to complete 15,000 ODI runs.
“Just keeping my head down, working hard, and thanking God for everything that I’ve been blessed with and the opportunities that I’ve gotten in my life to be where I am. Because so many people want to be here, but we get to be the lucky ones, we have a very blessed life and a blessed journey. Because the game’s more or less in the mind, “I think just the understanding of the game firstly, also at the stage that I’m at – just keeping myself physically very fit,.
Kohli, who now plays only ODIs for India, said the key to his recent consistency in the 50-over format lay in staying fit and mentally fresh.
So, we better put our head down and just work hard every day of our lives,” said Kohli in a chat with broadcasters at the conclusion of the game.
“I’ve got a challenge at this stage of my career to kind of up the ante and play a gear or two higher, and that was exciting for me to work on. Again, it excites you when you have to unlock a new version at this stage of your career, which will eventually help any team that you play for, be it playing for India or in the IPL. “Also clarity – I mean, we’re a year away from the World Cup.
With the 2027 ODI World Cup a year away, Kohli said playing a single format had given him clarity about his goals. I know what my goal is, and it’s pretty clear for me that whatever games we get, I just need to keep working on different aspects of the game, keep myself physically fit, challenge myself to be out there, run from boundary to boundary in the last 15 overs if I can, field in the inner ring, show intensity.
The former captain said he had set himself the task of batting at a higher tempo in ODIs.
“But I’m getting to live all these amazing moments representing my country, playing in front of such big crowds and doing the job for the team. As a cricket player, this is all that I dreamt of, and I’m getting it. “I just want to express myself and play my game. So I’m going to continue to play like that, but not be reckless. There’s a fine line which, as a professional, as an experienced player, I should have the ability to execute in this way without playing reckless shots and get the team through,” he added. “There’s a reason why he’s leading the team. “You could have a conversation here and there based on your experience in terms of the areas we could probably hit, but he’s the top ODI batter in the world. It’s just about stringing in partnerships and making sure we do justice to the ability and the talent we have in this team.
Because i can, as I said, I promised myself I’m going to play positively. Because he knows what needs to be done, I know what needs to be done, when you play with a guy like that, it’s not very difficult to string in a partnership,. Kohli, who added 151 for the second wicket with skipper Shubman Gill (110), was full of praise for his captain.
So I have nothing but gratitude in my heart, and, as I said, I just want to put my head down, keep working hard, put a smile on my face, and hopefully make other people smile too,” he explained. He’s got the right perspective, as I said, to look at the game in the way that making the team win from different situations. There’s not much that needs to be said to him.
