Virat Kohli Gautam Gambhir for India. Image Credits: AFP
Virat Kohli is currently at the pinnacle of success. After almost 18 years of professional cricket, the Delhi boy has now become an idol for many youngsters, yet a regret, rather a painful memory, of him remains.
Kohli’s casual admissions about his difficult moments often brought back bitter memories of the 2023 World Cup. Many also guess that his removal as captain back in 2021 might be the lowest point of his life; however, Virat Kohli chose a 12-year-old nightmare that still haunts him.
The Unkempt Virat Kohli Admits The Lowest Phase Of His Life
While speaking at the RCB Innovation Lab, Virat Kohli shared that the toughest cricketing phase he has ever encountered was in 2014, when the young Delhi boy was not the lion-hearted, aggressive megastar he is today.
Kohli admitted that the 2014 England tour was the toughest cricketing phase he had ever faced in his life.
The England tour was a multi-format series which was played across Nottingham, Lord's, Southampton, Manchester, The Oval, Cardiff, Birmingham, and Leeds. The red-ball and white-ball series were all important for a young Kohli, who looked to prove a point on foreign soil.
To his misfortune, Virat Kohli had a troublesome Test series start against England, where, from the 10 innings he played, he was able to gather only 134 runs at a very poor average of 13.40. He was dismissed early by his nemesis Stuart Broad and James Anderson, who troubled him for most of the Test series.
"2014 England tour was the toughest cricketing phase I've encountered. I was trying to be confident, but I would wake up everyday and I knew I was going to fail. I was like, 'How do I handle this?' Your competitive voice in your head is saying you have to do it. The Test series finished and we had an ODI series. I was confident, prepared well and literally my legs were shaking when I was approaching the crease," Kohli said at the RCB Innovation Lab.
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Virat Kohli's Massive Failure in England ODI Series
Kohli's admission was honest, since on the ODI tour too he failed to impress. From the four matches he played, he bagged only 54 runs while averaging 18.00, with Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes, and James Anderson dismissing him in three out of the four matches he appeared in.
His only noticeable knock came in the T20I tour, where he played a single match while chasing a target of 181 runs.
Although Virat Kohli was the highest scorer with 66 under his belt, the top and middle order collapsed miserably to hand England a victory by three runs. However, all of this showed the mental strength Kohli had, since he put his aggressive nature on display.
“I promised myself one thing before the bowler started running in, that I'm going to try to hit every ball out of the ground to break the shackles. I got out for zero but I had smashed the ball. I walked back relieved," Virat Kohli concluded.
Virat Kohli’s Rise After 2014
Even though Virat Kohli had a worrisome tour of England in 2014, that year was not his worst in ODI cricket. Kohli averaged 58.56 that year in the 21 ODI matches he played, carrying forward a form that had earlier averages of 54, 47, and 68.
His peak form, though, was in 2016 and 2018, where the maestro averaged 92.38 and 133.56, respectively, to play statement knocks and demonstrate that he is currently one of the best in the business even today with 14,700+ ODI runs in his bag.
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