Virat Kohli, the star Indian cricketer, talked about how he balances his calm and aggressive sides both on and off the field. He mentioned that people have had issues with both of these sides of his personality. Despite becoming more relaxed on the field in recent years, his competitive spirit has “not gone down.”
Virat shared these thoughts during the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit, ahead of the IPL 2025.
Virat Kohli Reflects on Balancing Aggression and Calmness on the Field
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Although Virat Kohli has become much calmer on the field, he sparked controversy during the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy. This was due to him shoulder-charging young Sam Konstas on his debut in the fourth Test in Melbourne. He also faced criticism for his taunting, in-your-face interactions with the crowd, which seemed to reference the “Sandpaper Gate” ball-tampering scandal. This controversy had led to a one-year ban for Australian players Steve Smith and David Warner after the 2018 tour of South Africa.
On his on-field persona, Virat Kohli said that it comes from the right place and he is naturally calming down over time. Speaking during the summit as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, Virat said, about his on-field persona “It is naturally kind of getting tapered down again”.
“People are not happy about that either. I do not know what to do, to be honest. Earlier, my aggression was a problem, now my calmness is a problem. It is like, I have no idea what needs to be done, that is why I do not focus on it much,” he added.
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Virat Kohli gave a fitting reply to critics, he said:
“The kind of person I am, the kind of personality I have, yes, I do have tendencies to kind of go overboard. And I’ve never shied away from that. But the starting point is, okay, sometimes it might not have gone out with the right intent, but more often than not, the starting point has been of care. I want this all to be an event that helps my team win. That is why you see the celebration that I have when we pick up a wicket in a tight situation. Because I am like, yes, this is exactly what needs to happen. And I represent it like that,” he continued.
“My competitiveness has not gone down. So, I think for a lot of people, it is very difficult to process how is the competitiveness going to be at the same level if the aggression is not. You can still be aggressive in your mind, but you do not necessarily need to express it out there every now and then out of frustration, which I have – I mean, in the recent past as well, which is not a great thing, to be honest, I don’t feel great about those things myself,” he concluded.
Virat Kohli’s Key Role in India’s ICC Champions Trophy Victory
Virat Kohli was a key player in India’s ICC Champions Trophy-winning team, scoring 218 runs in five matches at an average of 54.50. His highlights included a match-winning 100* against Pakistan and an 84 off 98 balls against Australia in the semifinals.
Virat will be playing for RCB in IPL 2025, starting with their opening match against Kolkata Knight Riders on March 22. He aims to win his first IPL title and break more batting records. He is the highest run-scorer in IPL history with 8,004 runs in 252 matches, averaging 38.66 and striking at 131.97, including eight centuries and 55 fifties.
Last year, he won the Orange Cap with 741 runs at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.69. His impressive performance helped RCB reach the playoffs after a tough start to the season.
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