Former Team India captain Ajinkya Rahane dismissed the narrative that veteran batter Virat Kohli is arrogant amid the ongoing first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara on January 11. However, Rahane acknowledged that Kohli does not talk to anyone, including his teammates, two days before a match.
The discarded Indian batter, though, added that Kohli gets into his zone by not being involved in too much chatter with teammates.
When asked about the misconception about Virat Kohli ahead of the India-New Zealand opening ODI, Rahane said on Cricbuzz:
“Outside people think Virat is arrogant generally but he is not. Now he gets into the zone where I’ve seen him two days before the game, he’ll hardly talk with people, even with teammates. That’s what actually gets him into the zone. He always wears his AirPods to try and listen to what he wants to. But he likes to get in the zone.”
Kohli and Rahane were teammates and played vital roles in India’s Test dominance in the 2010s, including their famous maiden Test series win in Australia in 2018-19.
Rahane also took over from Kohli as India’s captain after the first Test of their 2020-21 series win down under.
“Initially, it took all the players a little bit of time” – Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane admitted that Virat Kohli’s reserved behavior on the eve of matches took the Indian players some time to get used to. However, Rahane praised the champion batter for his incredible work ethic and constant evolution over the years.
“He (Kohli) is in the gym each end every time. We all know that but to understand him, initially it took all the players a little bit of time as to why he is doing that. But then I got to know that he’s actually getting into the zone while not talking to the players or anyone. 3. He actually likes to do that. His attitude and work ethic are amazing. And every time you see him, you see something different. He always wants to change and improve to contribute to the team,” said Rahane (via the aforementioned source).
Virat Kohli is the third all-time leading run-scorer in international cricket with almost 28,000 runs in 556 outings. He is also third in T20Is and second in ODIs in overall runs, while boasting a record 53 centuries in the 50-over format.
Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran