Living The Moment, Every Moment

That Virat Kohli’s IMPRINT ON INDIAN CRICKET is immense is signalled by the fact that he has ushered in a cultural change. The change has broadly come about in two aspects, his first coach, Rajkumar Sharma, points out — fitness and self-belief.

- Abhishek Mukherjee

Throwing the ball with full strength to the wicketkeeper when fielding may be standard among aspiring cricketers, but the young, enthusiastic Virat Kohli would ensure he did it every time at the West Delhi Cricket Academy, his cricketing alma mater in New Delhi’s Paschim Vihar, regardless of whether anyone was backing up.

Kohli liked doing it. It gave him a kick to be involved and to make an impact. It didn’t matter whether the throw was needed or not. It was a statement of intent.

“Till today, if you watch any of his matches, if he picks up the ball, [he will throw it hard]. He [would] field mainly at point or cover. He was and is a brilliant fielder. A lot of energy he [had]; he [would] dive about 10 feet to get to where the ball was going; he [would] never let it go. Once he fields it, he will throw it hard, and when he was a youngster, nobody used to take those throws and nobody [would be] backing up. So I [would] have to shout from the boundary line: ‘Virat, mat maarna. Throw mat maario (Don’t throw the ball). ’ But he will,” Rajkumar Sharma, his coach at the institution, said.

It is a habit he continues till this day. “Abhi bhi (even now) at times I tell him not to waste his energy. When it is not required, if he is standing at long-on, a single has been taken, still, he will throw it at the wicketkeeper’s end, with full [enthusiasm]. I always ask him, ‘Why do you do it?’ At this age also I have to tell him not to waste your energy; aisa hi hai woh, shuru se aisa hi tha (he was like this from the beginning),” Rajkumar adds.

According to Mithun Manhas, Kohli’s senior and captain in the Delhi Ranji Trophy team for a number of years, “He is aggressive and passionate [and] enjoys every moment. It’s a trait which has helped him reach this level.”