Virat Kohli on critics: ‘Don’t need anyone’s approval or assurance… Performance is my only currency’

Virat Kohli has been in the news this IPL 2024 season for his runs — and for his strike rate, with even Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar asking questions about his slow strike rate.

Not one to hold back, Virat Kohli recently had picked up a verbal feud with his critics over his numbers.

In a recently-released video ahead of the RCB vs CSK game, Virat Kohli has doubled down on his opinion on “external voices”.

When Virat Kohli was asked about how he reacted to the outsides noises in a special show on JioCinema, the Orange Cap holder said, “Zaroorat nahi hai (Don’t need to react). I know what I can do on ground. I don’t need to tell anyone what kind of player I am or what my ability is. I’ve never asked anyone how to win a match. I’ve learnt this by figuring it out myself in the middle of the ground by failing from experience. It’s not a by-chance thing when you’re repeatedly winning matches for the team. For someone to see and analyse a moment and for another player to experience that moment in the middle are two completely different things. I have never felt that I should go and tell someone not to say certain things about me. I know what I can do out there. Kisise na koi approval ki zaroorat hai, na assurance ki zaroorat hai ki aapne accha khela. (I don’t need anyone’s approval, or assurance that I played well.) I don’t need these things. I have learnt this from my father very early on. I could have played doe the state very early in my career through other means, but my father said only if you’re capable you will make it. Performance is my only currency.”

This comes a day after Gavaskar had said that it was Mahendra Singh Dhoni who had helped Kohli early on in his career.

“When Virat Kohli started his career, it was a stop-start career. The fact that MS Dhoni gave him that little extra momentum is why he is the Kohli we see today,” Gavaskar had said on Star Sports.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Virat Kohli plays a shot during an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 T20 cricket match between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, at HPCA Stadium, in Dharamshala, Thursday, May 9, 2024. (PTI Photo)

Virat Kohli then gave the example of former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as someone who was unaffected by what the rest of the world was saying about his tactics with the bat.

“People used to say the same about Mahi bhai (Mahendra Singh Dhoni). ‘Why is he taking the game to 20th over or 50th over.’ But how many matches did he finish for India! He’s probably the only person who knows what he’s doing! And he’s finishing the game from there. For me, that’s muscle memory. He knows if he takes the match till the last over, he’ll win the game. My mindset was different. I used to think let’s finish the game in the 49th over (in ODIs) or 19th over (in T20s). If he was batting with me at the end, then the thinking was different. He will take the game into the last over where the opposition team is shivering in fear.”

Virat Kohli, who has so far scored 661 runs in 13 IPL 2024 matches before the RCB vs CSK clash, also spoke of his alag motivation for playing for RCB, a franchise he has represented for 17 seasons.

“I have a different motivation these days. Yeah you want to win. Yes, you have your trophies and medals. I have never looked back at those things even once. What’s special for a player is the connection you have with fans or franchise. Or the camaraderie you experience with your mates. That’s special, to experience it for so long. Not too many people get this. You can be sent away by the franchise even if you want to play for the same team. Playing for a different team is a very ajeeb feeling. I’ve never had to experience this, and for that I am very grateful. These little things.. the expressions on people’s faces when they see you, you cannot demand it from fans. It’s a very organic process. These things for me are of the highest value. Of course you want to play and win. But at the end of the day, I don’t think that’s what you’re remembered for. I don’t think when fans remember a player, they speak of how many trophies they have won or how many runs they have scored,” Virat Kohli added.

Get latest updates on IPL 2024 from IPL Points Table to Teams, Schedule, Most Runs and Most Wickets along with live score updates for all matches. Also get Sports news and more cricket updates.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.