Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill had barely settled into their first partnership of 2026 when a familiar question landed in the commentary box: What does the next generation take from India’s modern great?
It was the opening match of the three-match ODI series between India and New Zealand in Vadodara, and the visuals were the point in themselves - Shubman Gill, the captain, sharing the middle with Kohli, the benchmark.
As the duo settled in at the Kotambi Stadium, Harsha Bhogle tossed it to Ravi Shastri and got a sharp, old-school breakdown of why Kohli’s excellence starts long before a match.
Shastri didn’t talk about batlifts, trigger movements, or which balls to leave. He went straight to the stuff that doesn’t show up on a highlights reel: the daily obsession. The discipline that looks boring on paper. but becomes brutal to compete against over the years.
“The single-mindedness, the hunger. The willingness to push that body to the limits. And I have seen that in my time when I was with the team, his work ethics probably second to none. I have seen just the way he goes about his job, the number of catches he takes in the morning, the catches in the outfield, and the throws into the keeper’s gloves. Apart from his batting and everything else, it’s a routine.”
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{{/usCountry}}“The single-mindedness, the hunger. The willingness to push that body to the limits. And I have seen that in my time when I was with the team, his work ethics probably second to none. I have seen just the way he goes about his job, the number of catches he takes in the morning, the catches in the outfield, and the throws into the keeper’s gloves. Apart from his batting and everything else, it’s a routine.”
Also Read: Virat Kohli decoded ODIs like no-one else: Simon Doull brands him ‘the outlier’ and rejects ‘ODIs are easier' claim
{{/usCountry}}It was a reminder that Kohli’s aura isn’t built only on cover drives and the myth of chase; it’s built on repetition. On turning into a non-negotiable habit, whether the day demands nets, fitness, fielding drills, or simply showing up with intent.
For Gill, the lesson is almost stubbornly simple: talent travels, but routine stays. Virat Kohli’s version of professionalism is not a when I feel good plan. It is a system, a way of living inside cricket, where effort is assumed, and standards are self-policed. The batting then becomes the visible output of an invisible process.
That matters in ODIs, where rhythm can vanish for weeks between games, and where the smallest drop in conditioning or sharpness can be the difference between a streak and consistency. Kohli has made longevity look like a personality trait. Shastri’s point was that it’s actually a choice, made every morning.
And if Gill wants to build a career that lasts and scales, the blueprint is already there: keep the hunger, protect the body, and let the routine do the heavy lifting.