While it might look that he has been that way from the beginning, Team India’s skipper Virat Kohli recently reminiscences about his first “nerve-wracking” day in the dressing room.
Kohli made his debut for the Indian team in the year 2008 against Sri Lanka. In 2008, he had returned home as the winning captain of India Under-19 Cricket World Cup, selectors gave him a nod for the tour of Sri Lanka in the same year. Kohli said he believed news of him being selected in the Indian team by various media outlets as rumours.
“I clearly remember sitting with my mom and watching the news on the day of the selection meeting. My name just flashed on the TV but I thought they might just be spreading a rumour or something like that. Then five minutes later, I got a call from the Board that I had been selected. I got goosebumps. I was shaking. It was a very special day,” Kohli said.
“I clearly remember walking into the team meeting. I was asked to give a speech in the team room. It was nerve-wracking for me with so many great Indian players there. They were looking at me. Which we now do to younger guys to intimidate them, make them nervous (smiles). These are my first memories,” he added.
Virat Kohli is now one of the best batsmen in the cricketing arena. Some cricket pundits call him ‘legend in the making’ and with his 35 centuries in ODIs he is pegged to surpass batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar.
