'There was no chance I was playing again. Knew I'll have to go back to first-class cricket': Kohli recalls ultimate low

Talking on the first episode of RCB Podcast season 2, Kohli recalled a period when he feared getting dropped from the Indian side and thought he might have to go back to first-class cricket to make his way back into the team.

Virat Kohli is hailed as a modern-era great and has already established himself as a legend of the sport. During his illustrious 15-year-long career, Kohli has scored 12809 runs in 271 ODIs, 8195 in 108 Test matches and 4008 runs in 115 T20I appearances, with 74 international tons, the second most in the history. As dreamy as the numbers look like, it wasn't always a smooth run. Talking on the first episode of RCB Podcast season 2, Kohli recalled a period when he feared getting dropped from the Indian side and thought he might have to go back to first-class cricket to make his way back into the team.

Virat Kohli (ANI)

Kohli here talks about 2012, when he had arrived in Perth for the Test against Australia with fear of losing his spot in the Indian team after having made a promising start to his career.

Virat said, “When we arrived in Perth, at the first glimpse of the surface we knew that it was a very tough pitch to bat on as there was ample pace and bounce on offer. Not only were these two the solitary nightmares but to add to a batter’s woe, there was ample grass as well. And I knew that if I do not perform in this Test match, then there was no chance that I was playing the fourth. Probably, I will have to go back to first-class cricket and climb my way back to the top again.”

He continued, “So I clearly remember, when I left Sydney, there was a lot of vitriol. Especially when you lose the first two Test matches of a series in Australia, the whole environment becomes very tense. Everyone is obviously feeling a lot of pressure and when it is your first tour to Australia and you see everyone feeling a lot of pressure around, you think that I have got no chance here.”

Virat further added, “It is because the whole team is feeling like that and I am the most inexperienced. How am I going to turn this around? I remember that in that adverse situation, I kind of got a resilience. I told myself, ‘Hold on. Maybe I can be different if I think different. So I went into my own space. Spent a lot of time by just walking around by myself. I sat in a coffee shop too. I remember, every time I stepped into the bus or was in a practice session, I always had my music on. I kept telling myself that I have got 8 ODI hundreds by the time. I told myself that I am good enough to play at this level. I told myself if I can get 8 hundreds in ODI cricket, I can manage this as well.”

What makes a champion is when the person fights back from these odd lows and puts on a show to remember. Kohli bounced back from his thoughts of self-doubt to score 48 and 75 in the Test match. He was in fact India's highest scorer in the match.

The former India skipper said, “I kept telling myself that I am good enough and I can do it. I ended up scoring 48 in the first innings and 75 in the second in that Test match, braving conditions that were extremely tough. I was the highest run-getter in that Test match for us. That made me believe that the power of visualization and belief in yourself is so huge, we never fully tap into the potential like that. But when you really put out all the distractions in the side, when you believe in yourself, is when you do something that is not perceivable for people on the outside. That was a big lesson for me.”