Veteran India and RCB batter Virat Kohli has credited former India head coach Rahul Dravid and batting coach Vikram Rathour for helping him going through a tough phase and rediscover the joy of playing cricket after stepping down as India captain as well. He stated that the duo “genuinely took care” of him mentally during a poor phase of his career.
“I’ve said this many times about Rahul bhai and Vikram Rathour. I had a great phase in Test cricket, and whenever I meet them, I thank them from the bottom of my heart because they took care of me in a way that made me feel like I wanted to play for them,” Kohli said at the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit Powered by Leaders, held at the Centre for Sports Excellence, Bengaluru, on Tuesday (May 19).
“I wanted to perform, grind it out, and do the hard work because they were so caring and nurturing. They reminded me of everything I had done so far – something you never really sit down and think about as a player. As players, you’re always walking a very thin line between being cautious and being insecure. You constantly feel like you’re never good enough – that imposter syndrome is always there,” Kohli said.
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“Even today, when I go into the nets, I still think: these youngsters are watching. If I have a bad session, they’ll probably wonder, ‘Is this the guy who’s been playing for 20 years?’ That thought is always there. Rahul bhai understood that because he had experienced it himself at the highest level. Vikram had been around for years too. They understood what I was feeling and genuinely took care of me mentally. That put me in a space where I could enjoy my cricket again,” he further added.
However, Virat Kohli revealed that it was only after leaving captaincy that he started opening up more about what he had gone through mentally while leading the team for nearly a decade across formats.
“The reason you’re given a leadership role is because people believe you can take on more and still manage it. In many ways, leadership is more about management than even coaching. It’s about understanding the people playing with you and for you, and figuring out how to get the best out of them,” he said.
According to Virat Kohli, captaincy often required him to suppress his own emotions so that the focus would entirely be on the team.
“To do that, you constantly have to be in a space where you’re not focused on yourself. You don’t even think about whether someone is going to ask you, ‘Are you okay?’ That thought doesn’t even cross your mind. I did look back and realise that no one had really asked me that question for almost nine years – ‘How are you doing?'” he stated.
“When I was in the thick of things, I never really felt like I needed someone to ask me how I was doing. I was okay managing everything. And honestly, I’d do it the same way all over again. I don’t really believe in managing workload when you’re still in the thick of your journey and trying to grow. First, you have to understand your maximum limit. Only then do you understand balance – how much you can truly take before you begin to taper it down. But if you start managing too early, you may never reach your full potential.”
