NEWS
Follow UsVirat Kohli took a break immediately after the England series and didn’t play the West Indies and Zimbabwe series even though many suggested that playing those two series could have helped him regain his old form. With India taking on Pakistan in the first game of the Asia Cup, Kohli is back to the set-up again with a lot of eyes fixed on how he is going to perform.
However, in a candid conversation with Star Sports, Virat Kohli admitted that he was feeling mentally down and was faking intensity but after a break, in which he didn’t touch his bat for a month, he is feeling fresh again.
"I am not shy to admit that I was feeling mentally down. For the first time in 10 years, I didn't touch my bat for a month. I came to realize that I was trying to fake my intensity a bit recently," the former India skipper told "Star Sports" in an episode of "Virat: Heart to Heart".
"I was convincing myself that no, you had the intensity. But your body was telling you to stop. The mind was telling me to take a break and step back. This is a very normal thing to feel, but we don't speak because we are hesitant. We don't want to be looked at as mentally weak. Trust me, faking to be strong is far worse than admitting to be weak.
With the popular discourse finding flaws in Kohli’s batting and his technique, the former Indian skipper stated that it was not the same intensity that normally goes into his preparation. So much so that Kohli was pushing the limit to enjoy the game but failed to do so.
"I'm looked at as a guy who is mentally very strong and I am. But everyone has a limit and you need to recognize that limit, otherwise things can get unhealthy for you. This period taught me a lot of things that I wasn't allowed to come to surface. When they eventually came up, I embraced it. I want to make my team win at any cost and if that means I am gasping for breath when I walk off the field then so be it," he said.
"I mean that's the kind of preparation I go through to be able to play like that. Wo naturally nahi ho raha tha aur mujhe push karna pad raha tha (I was not able to get that high intensity naturally, I was pushing myself to do it). But I just didn't know it," said Kohli.
"I just tell them I love playing the game and I love the fact that I have so much to contribute to every ball, and I will give every inch of my energy on the field," the 33-year-old added.
