Batting maestro Virat Kohli is set to achieve another feat on Thursday as the first Test between India and Sri Lanka turns out to be his 100th. The 33-year-old has been a consistent performer for India in Test cricket and during his captaincy stint, he has taken the team to greater heights. Kohli has so far scored 7962 runs in 99 Tests which includes 27 centuries and 28 half-centuries. However, the run-machine journey began when a younger version of Kohli led India’s U19 team to a World Cup victory in 2008. The charismatic batsman immediately shot into limelight after guiding India to their second U19 WC title at that time.
Ahead of Kohli’s historic Test, his former Under-19 teammates revealed that the winning team has a WhatsApp group named ‘Under 19 Champions’. In a conversation with The Indian Express, several players revealed that the group is quite active and they often pull each other’s legs, including Kohli.
Iqbal Abdullah recalled a memory when Kohli lost his cool on him and the left-arm spinner said that he still laughs about it and pulls Kohli’s leg.
“As captain, Kohli was so involved in the World Cup game that he forgot that he had changed the position of my field. I was at deep midwicket and when the batsman hit the ball at square leg, he sent me to field there. Soon, the ball went over midwicket and Kohli lost his cool. I had to remind him of the sequence of events. We still laugh about it,” Adulla told the Indian Express.
“Memes and jokes are given to everyone. No one has been spared,” he says.
Tanmay Srivastava, the top scorer in that final and starting the group, finds it amusing to recall the public perception about Kohli at the time.
Tanmay Srivastava was the one who formed the group as he talked about how the former players used to taunt Kohli about his attitude but the batting maestro silenced him with his performance.
“People used to say, ‘Look, he has attitude issues’. But when he started performing, his attitude turned into aggression in his eyes! Many former players used to say, ‘Bada khalifa ban gaya hai’. But there was one comment, as he saw it. But consistent performances changed everything. Now the same people say he is a confident man,” Srivastava said.
Srivastava was Kohli’s senior and during his childhood he often addressed him as ‘Bhaisaheb’. He was Kohli’s captain for the Under-19 World Cup.
Srivastava said that every player in that team was match-winners but Kohli’s never-give-up attitude made him different from others.
“We were all match winners in that team but he was different because of his aggression. He was ready to fight with anyone without blinking an eye. A rare quality, especially then no one was used to such an attitude. He was definitely different, he had that X-factor, the spirit, the never-give-up attitude,” he said.
Fast bowler Pradeep Sangwan recalled and recalled how Kohli used to be a foodie in his early days of cricket and that all changed when they both played Ranji Trophy together in 2010.
“He used to eat a lot. Mutton-rice, everything. He would even walk several kilometers to visit various eateries; the only thing that mattered was the taste,” Sangwan said.
When did he change? “In 2010, when he came to play for the Delhi Ranji team, everything was different. He was eating boiled food! He did not drink more than 200 ml of liquid at a time. Rice-mutton curry was replaced by diet food. I was surprised how much he has transformed himself,” he said.
Wicket-keeper batsman Shreevats Goswami praised Kohli’s determination towards the game.
“I used to meet him during IPL and he never misses his fitness session. Most of the time, I saw him working out in the gym. His attention was far ahead of all of us. Often cricketers become lazy and there is a ‘cheat day’ for them but Virat will never do that.
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