Virat Kohli' ty of a champion

Laidback, chatty and jovial, Indian cricket team skipper Virat Kohli painted a refreshing picture of casualness when he interacted with the media at an event at a new international watch store in the city. The RCB captain, who was back in nammooru for the game against SRH, was in a light-hearted mood as he got candid with host Siddharth Kannan about his childhood, his special buddy Bruno and more…

Talking about how important it is for him to listen to his gut instinct, he shares, “I’m very aware of my gut feeling. When I feel I need to change something in my game, I do it the very next hour I don’t wait even till the next day. That’s how you need to stay ahead of the game you need to maintain a certain standard that you’ve set for yourself. The only thing I tell people is ‘follow your gut’ you can never go wrong from the heart.” 

With VK having the humungous task of leading the country, how does he motivate himself and his team during ups and downs? “It’s certainly difficult. Every human being wants to learn those who don’t want to will not move forward in life. Anyway, people who come to this level are those who are keen on learning. You should look forward to the times when things are not going your way as that’s when you learn most about the sport and yourself,” expresses the swashbuckling hitter. Virat admits that testing times have revealed who his true buddies are. “Tough phases have filtered out people from my life where I’ve figured out who was unwanted. Life’s unpredictable and you can’t take it for granted. Such things make you humble and bring you to a level where you can erase everything and begin again. It’s never a bad time to start all over again. When you achieve something, you want that to stay, but nothing stays, so don’t get attached to your success. You just need to enjoy the sport, then everything becomes better a
nd people will smile.”

The conversation veers towards food and Virat tells us that his favourite cuisine is Japanese, but at home, he sticks to simple khana like spinach, rice or sweet potatoes. “I don’t have the time to cook, but maybe at a later stage in my life, I will. I’m really intrigued by the flavours that come through in a dish,” he says.

The explosive batsman also reveals that his all-time favourite film is Rocky 4. “I’ve seen it about 50 times. Even today, I could watch it twice and get just as excited. The way the guy in the film goes against all odds and makes everyone his fan is what stands out for me,” says the Dilli boy who listens Eye Of the Tiger from the movie before he goes out to play. 

As he reminisces his childhood, Virat reveals that he was an utterly mischievous kid. “With every meal I had, I’d make my mom run around the house to feed me. I was not at all calm, but I’m glad I wasn’t I guess if I were, then I’d have been lazy! But I always used to get my cheeks pulled by everyone and that’s one of the reasons I made sure I got rid of my cheeks! Everyday, almost every teacher in school would pull my cheeks and I thought that would make them a little generous while giving me marks, but that never happened!” he quips. 

When he does find time to go home, Virat makes sure he spends ample time with his doggy Bruno, who came into his life in 2009. “I love him.He’s usually lazy, but doesn’t sleep much when I’m there as he gets really excited. When I’m on the PlayStation, he doesn’t like it and comes and disturbs me as he wants all the attention,” smiles Virat. And considering he’s a huge football buff, does Bruno join him for some footie action? “I don’t live in a mansion back home! We have no lawn to play football. We got the house in Delhi long ago, and we’re happy with how it is,” he shares.