Star batter Virat Kohli on Tuesday opened up about the evolution of his T20 game over the years and how he struggled with a lack of confidence ahead of the last year's T20 World Cup final against South Africa following a string of ordinary scores in the tournament.
Speaking on the latest episode of the RCB Podcast, Virat recalled his journey as a T20 cricketer, especially after his retirement from international T20s last year, saying that he is pleased with the changes that he has made to his game as it has helped him get out of his comfort zone.
"In the last couple of seasons, I have consciously made an effort to evolve my game. And I have seen the results of it. Again, to the point where I had to let go of people wanting to see me, this is who I am, and just go and hit the ball," said Virat as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
"You start from wanting to hit the ball, and then you go through this whole journey of becoming someone. Expectations, this and that, to a point where you feel like this is actually pulling me back. And you have to push through and again get to the point where you say, just hit the ball. That is the only constant that remains for a cricketer."
"I looked to make a few changes, which I am very happy about, because I had to kind of go out of my comfort zone and try different things. Again, the fear of failure cannot enter that space. So I knew that I was going to get out a few times (cheaply) and that's okay. I'm not going to expect myself to get 70, 80, 90 every game. Even an impactful 35-40 that helps the team is good enough for me," he asserted.
In the ongoing IPL, Virat is leading the scoring charts with 505 runs in 11 matches at an average of 63.12 and a strike rate of 143.46. He has so far hit seven half-centuries with the best score being 73 not out.
His side, Royal Challengers Bengaluru. are currently sitting atop the table with sixteen points, winning eight of their eleven matches. RCB will next play Lucknow Super Giants in an away match on May 9.
Since the start of the 2024 IPL season, Virat has been topping the batting charts, aggregating 1,246 runs in 26 matches at a stunning average of 62.30 and a strike rate close to 150. He has smashed a century and 12 fifties during the period.
With 56 sixes since last season, he is third among the highest six-hitters, with only Nicholas Pooran (70), Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag (59 each) ahead of him.
Virat was at his explosive best in IPL 2024, scoring a chart-topping 741 runs in 15 innings with the help of a century and five fifties. He made those runs at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.69.
Over the last two seasons, Virat has adapted an aggressive batting strategy against spin, striking at 137.08 and 135.42 respectively in the previous season and the ongoing edition so far. This period has seen him making good use of a particular shot -- the slog sweep -- against the tweakers.
Speaking about the T20 World Cup win, Virat, who scored just 75 runs in seven innings before the final and made a match-winning 76 in the summit clash, said he walked to the pitch with "no confidence".
"For the T20 World Cup, I am more grateful than being proud. I was not able to get runs throughout the tournament, and I am grateful that I was put in that pressure situation again. I was walking in with no confidence, and then when things are supposed to unfold for you, I get three balls, I get three boundaries and I am like, what is this game? One day, you feel like you cannot get a run, and suddenly you walk into one of the biggest days of your career, and things just start happening," he recalled.
"And then you are put in this situation where the team needs you, and this performance happens through you. And you are like, how? And that's when you kind of understand, okay, this is the amount of hard work, and then you arrive at the ground. And then whatever has to take place will take place. The preparation is in my hands. The results are not in my hands. I just have to stay true to my instinct. If I have to hit the ball, I have to hit the ball. That is my only responsibility. Where that ball goes, how the execution will happen - that all depends on [other factors] because there are other people playing as well. We tend to forget this," he added.
Virat said that things have not changed for him during this IPL after his T20I retirement, since his decision to retire was made keeping in mind the upcoming generation of players with a different playing style and how they needed time to have a crack at the international level.
"The decision (to retire from T20Is) was taken purely understanding that there is a new set of players who are more than ready. There is no denying it. These guys are playing a different game altogether to what we played and they need time. They need a two-year cycle to evolve, handle pressure, play in different parts of the world and play enough games to the point where when the World Cup comes, they feel like we are ready," he said.
"So the decision always has to be interlinked with how the team can evolve, and grow into the unit that they want to be because we also experienced those moments. We also got together as a team and we had to spend considerable time together to form that combination," he signed off.
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