Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 6 (ANI): Star India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Virat Kohli opened up on evolution in his T20 game over the last couple of years and how he struggled with a lack of confidence ahead of the T20 World Cup final against South Africa following a lean run throughout the tournament.
Virat was speaking on the latest episode of the RCB Podcast, which was released on the franchise’s YouTube channel. In the ongoing IPL, Virat is at the top of run-scoring charts with 505 runs in 11 matches at an average of 63.12, with seven half-centuries and the best score of 73*. His strike rate is 143.46. His team is at the top of the table with eight wins and three losses and will play Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Lucknow on May 9.
Speaking on the podcast as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, Virat opened up on his journey as a T20 cricketer, especially after his retirement from international T20s last year, saying that he is happy with his changes since it has helped him escape his comfort zone, and he is not scared of getting out.
“In the last couple of seasons, I have consciously made an effort to evolve my game. And I have seen the results of it. Again, to the point where I had to let go of people wanting to see me, this is who I am, and just go and hit the ball,” said Virat as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
“You start from wanting to hit the ball, and then you go through this whole journey of becoming someone. Expectations, this and that, to a point where you feel like this is actually pulling me back. And you have to push through and again get to the point where you say, just hit the ball. That is the only constant that remains for a cricketer.”
“I looked to make a few changes, which I am very happy about, because I had to kind of go out of my comfort zone and try different things. Again, the fear of failure cannot enter that space. So I knew that I was going to get out a few times [cheaply] and that’s okay. I’m not going to expect myself to get 70, 80, 90 every game. Even an impactful 35-40 that helps the team is good enough for me,” he concluded his point.
Since the start of last IPL season, Virat is a chart-topper, with 1,246 runs in 26 matches and innings at a stunning average of 62.30, with a strike rate of almost 150, reading 149.93 in exact figures. He has scored a century and 12 fifties, with the best score of 113*. With 56 sixes since last season, he is in third place among the highest six-hitters in this time frame, with Nicholas Pooran (70), Abhishek Sharma (59) and Riyan Parag (59) above him.
The previous season was Virat at his most explosive, scoring a chart-topping 741 runs in 15 innings at an average of 61.75 at an all-time high strike rate of 154.69, making a century and five fifties.
Over the last two seasons, Virat has taken a more attacking approach against spin, striking at 137.08 and 135.42 respectively in the 2024 and current season so far, respectively. He has routinely utilised the slog sweep shot against them.
Speaking about the T20 World Cup win, Virat, who had scored just 75 runs in seven innings before the final and made a match-winning 76 in the title clash, said that he walked to the pitch with “no confidence”.
“For the T20 World Cup, I am more grateful than proud. I was not able to get runs through the tournament, and I am grateful that I was put in that pressure situation again. I was walking in with no confidence, and then when things are supposed to unfold for you, I get three balls, I get three boundaries and I am like, what is this game? One day, you feel like you cannot get a run, and suddenly you walk into one of the biggest days of your career, and things just start happening,” he recalled.
“And then you are put in this situation where the team needs you, and this performance happens through you. And you are like, how? And that’s when you kind of understand, okay, this is the amount of hard work, and then you arrive at the ground. And then whatever has to take place will take place. The preparation is in my hands. The results are not in my hands. I just have to stay true to my instinct. If I have to hit the ball, I have to hit the ball. That is my only responsibility. Where that ball goes, how the execution will happen – that all depends on [other factors] because there are other people playing as well. We tend to forget this,” he added.
Virat said that things have not changed for him during this IPL after his T20I retirement, since his decision to retire was made keeping in mind the upcoming generation of players with a different playing style and how they needed time to crack the international game fully.
“The decision (to retire from T20Is) was taken purely understanding that there are new set of players who are more than ready. There is no denying it. These guys are playing a different game altogether to what we played and they need time. They need a two-year cycle to evolve, handle pressure, play in different parts of the world and play enough games to the point where when the World Cup comes, they feel like we are ready,” he said.
“So the decision always have has to be interlinked with how the team can evolve, and grow into the unit that they want to be because we also experienced those moments. We also got together as a team and we had to spend considerable time together to form that combination,” he concluded.
Virat is the third-highest run-getter in T20Is, with 4,188 runs in 125 matches at an average of 48.69, with a century and 38 fifties to his name. His runs came at a strike rate of over 137. Across all of T20s, Virat is the fifth-highest run-getter, with 13,391 runs at an average of 41.97 in 410 matches and 393 innings. He has made nine centuries and 104 fifties. (ANI)
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