Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli (born 5 November 1988) is an Indian international cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler. Kohli married a Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma on 11 December 2017. He is the ex captain of Indian cricket team in all three formats of cricket. In Indian Premier League (IPL), he captains the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Quotes

If I'm playing the peacemaker, you can imagine what was going on out there.

• Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It is time we carried him on our shoulders.
  • Kohli, when he carried Sachin Tendulkar on his shoulders after India won the WC 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, quoted on dna, "Not just Tendulkaresque, Kohli is a beautiful blend of Fab Five", March 29, 2016.

• I just want to congratulate Kumar again on a wonderful career. I have spoken a lot about him, everyone has, in the last week, but I can't help saying it again that it has been an absolute pleasure playing with you.
  • Kohli on Kumar Sangakkara, "Virat Kohli Says it Has Been a Pleasure Playing With Kumar Sangakkara", August 24, 2015.

• If I'm playing the peacemaker, you can imagine what was going on out there.
  • Kohli on the conflicts during the Adelaide Test against Australia during India v/s Australia 4 match test series in 2011-12, quoted on Maketimeforsports, "Virat Kohli: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t", December 15, 2014.

• The people you choose to have around you make all the difference. My family and close friends keep me grounded. You have to have a mind of your own and a strong head on your shoulders. Cricket is the most important thing to me, so the rest of it pales in comparison.
  • Virat Kohli.

• I would like to thank the crowd, it was unbelievable, the support helps you push through those tough times. You need challenges in every game, they improve you as a cricketers...I don't know what to say, I am overwhelmed by,
  • After guiding India to the World T20 semifinals, quoted on sports.ndtv, "Virat Kohli Proves His Era Has Begun, After Guiding India Into World T20 Semifinals", March 27, 2016.

• The bat is not a toy, it's a weapon. It gives me everything in life, which helps me to do everything on the field.
  • Virat Kohli

About him

• I would love to do that. They (Kohli and Root) have been playing brilliantly. I love both. Outstanding cricketers and they have been fantastic for a long period of time. Watching these two bat and perform in the way they have been performing, you can learn a lot.
  • New Zealand captain and top batsman Kane Williamson, quoted on Indian Express, "England vs New Zealand: There’s plenty to learn from Virat Kohli and Joe Root, says Kane Williamson", March 31, 2016.

• Sachin Tendulkar was obviously one of those rare players that the world has seen. If Virat continues to work hard and do the things that he has been doing now in the years to come, then he could be the next Sachin Tendulkar. It will be a proud moment for me if that happens because we were backing a young Kohli since his early days. It is so good to see him flourish and express himself and I am happy for him. Hats off!
  • Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh has described Virat Kohli as a ‘ champion player’, insisting that the star batsman could become the next Sachin Tendulkar if he continues to produce match-winning performances consistently in the coming future, quoted on Cricket Country, "Virat Kohli could became next Sachin Tendulkar: Harbhajan Singh", March 29, 2016.

• I think that the Virat Kohli era has dawned over the last year or so. It's been there ever since he took over the Test captaincy and because he is now going to create a completely different niche as far as Indian cricket is concerned. I think this era of India cricket is going to be a highly entertaining era.
  • Before the match, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar told NDTV that the Kohli era has started, quoted on sports.ndtv, "Virat Kohli Proves His Era Has Begun, After Guiding India Into World T20 Semifinals", March 27, 2016.

• Yeah, absolutely because I said on-air that he'll [Kohli] become the next Sachin Tendulkar of Indian team because when I was growing up I watched Tendulkar. Similarly Tendulkar watched Sunil Gavaskar.
  • Virender Sehwag saying that Kohli will became the next Sachin Tendulkar, quoted on sports.ndtv, "Virat Kohli Proves His Era Has Begun, After Guiding India Into World T20 Semifinals", March 27, 2016.

• Virat Kohli is becoming like a wall in the Indian team. Earlier, it used to be Sachin Tendulkar who won matches for India and now it is Kohli who is playing that role.
  • Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi on Friday compared batting maestro Virat Kohli with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, saying he has now become the wall of the Indian cricket team, winning match after match with his bat, quoted on ibnlive, "Virat Kohli becoming 'a wall' just like Sachin Tendulkar, says Afridi", March 25, 2016.

• He is a man who is in control of his batting and he knows exactly what he is trying to do. He knows how to do it and for a guy who has got a fiery temperament in a lot of ways, you seem to be getting involved in shouting matches on the field, it is the fiery temperament, but he seems able to keep it under control in tense situations like that where he is chasing down the target. He seems to have himself totally under control whereas other times I have seen him where he looks out of control, but never with the bat in his hand
  • Ian Chappell, feels that Virat Kohli is a man in "control of his batting" which enables him to pull off some great run chases in pressure situations, quoted on ibnlive, "World T20: Virat Kohli is a man in control of his batting, feels Ian Chappell", March 20, 2016.

• He has a lot of ability. The team depends on him. He is a star. He is going to emerge as an all-time great in the future. I see that much potential in him. It is very difficult to spot his weakness. He plays on both sides of the wicket. He plays both on the front and the back foot. He has a good temperament, technique.
  • Showering praise on India's star batsman Virat Kohli, legendary cricketer Imran Khan said he had the potential to emerge as an all-time great, quoted on ibnlive, "Virat Kohli has the potential to emerge as all-time great: Imran Khan", March 19, 2016.

• When he (Virat Kohli) fielded, he said something to me, and I said to myself, 'I'm going to show you you're not the only good batsman.' That's the way he is. He's very arrogant, he's very aggressive when he fields, and when he bats as well. He's just a very aggressive person. Those things motivate our players and it certainly motivated me. That really urged me to bat the way I did - to show him that he's not the only one who can do it. That played a big role.
  • Lendl Simmons, the man of the match of West Indies' victory over India in the ICC World Twenty20 2016 semi-final, expressing on the arrogancy of Virat Kohli that motivated him to play a match-winning knock in Mumbai. He quoted it to Espncricinfo 'Very arrogant' Virat Kohli motivated me to knock India out of World T20: Lendl Simmons 7 June, 2016
• When I look at Virat, I think he needs someone in the support staff who can constructively challenge him and help him grow. I think if he had a really constructive person in his environment, who could talk to him, make him think, maybe even challenge him with some different ideas, in a constructive way, not an angry or aggressive way, but make him think, open his eyes to other possibilities, that would make him a really good leader. I don't know, when I look at him, if he is a long-term captaincy option for India.
  • Graeme Smith quoted to Espncricinfo Not sure Virat Kohli long term captaincy option-Graeme Smith January 2018
• As captain, I think, he is still not at his best. The Indian cricket system has to feed off Virat Kohli. Going from MS Dhoni to Kohli has been a drastic change. Dhoni is so calm and Kohli is the complete opposite. He can be intimidating the dressing room and sometimes his teammates can wonder who Kohli really is. There can be a fear factor in the dressing room and you don't want that with so many youngsters coming into the side. Indian cricket, thus, has to find people who can help and influence Kohli into ways of improving and becoming an even better leader.
  • Former RCB coach Ray Jennings' quotation in NDTV sports: Kohli Can Be 'Intimidating' In Dressing Room, Says Former RCB Coach 06 February 2018
• “It's a joy to watch Virat Kohli bat. He can break my records”.
  • Sachin Tendulkar
• "When he sees a bowler not say things, he will get bored. He needs action in the middle to be at his best. When he doesn’t get it, he will find it boring and that’s when he can make a mistake. With players like him you need to be smart and not do the things that you will do with other batters. So when you bowl to him try and stay silent and make him feel bored. That’s your best chance of getting him out,"
  • SA legend Ntini says India great will get ‘bored if not sledged'