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Virat Kohli's 'cockiness' on debut series revealed by his senior teammate: 'He owned the dressing room'
Irfan Pathan reminisced about Virat Kohli's entry into the dressing room, noting how he exuded confidence right from the start.
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan walked down memory lane to recall his first impression of Virat Kohli when he entered the dressing room for his maiden series. Kohli entered the Indian team carrying high expectations on his shoulders, having led the Under-19 squad to a World Cup triumph in 2008. He began his international journey with an ODI debut on the tour of Sri Lanka and, over time, established himself as one of the greatest white-ball batters the game has ever seen.
Pathan, a key member of the squad during Kohli’s debut series, reminisced about the young Delhi batter’s entry into the dressing room, noting how he exuded confidence right from the start.
"He won the Under-19 World Cup as a captain in 2008. He came into the dressing room with confidence and cockiness. I saw him very closely in Sri Lanka. He owned the dressing room, and it did not feel like he was a youngster," Pathan said in a video on his YouTube channel.
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However, when it comes to IPL, he didn't have the best of starts to his journey in the cash-rich league. In his first three IPL seasons, he couldn't cross the 400-run mark, but the 2012 edition marked a turning point as he surpassed 500 runs for the first time. From there, he never looked back, eventually becoming the highest run-scorer in the tournament’s history.
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‘The peak of Kohlli's career started from there…’
Pathan also reflected on the RCB superstar's IPL journey and how the peak of his career began in the 2012 edition.
"But when his IPL journey began in 2008, he got around 150 runs. It was not that special, but by the time the whole cycle of his youth ends in 2012, before that came in the 2011 season where he scored more than 500 runs for RCB for the first time in his IPL career. The peak of his career started from there," Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
Kohli had announced his retirement from the longest format last month after featuring in 123 Tests for India, scoring 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries.
