India cricket great Virat Kohli has opened up about the mental and physical toll of captaining the national side, revealing that he was 'completely spent' by the time he stepped down from leadership roles between 2021 and 2022.
Kohli, who remains India's most successful Test captain with 40 wins in 68 matches, led the team to major overseas Test victories and regular knockout appearances in ICC white-ball tournaments, including the 2017 Champions Trophy final and the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final.
The Burden of Leadership
The former India skipper said the demands of being both the batting mainstay and captain eventually drained him. 'I ended up being in a place where I became the focal point of our batting unit. And then I became the focal point of leadership. I didn't realise how much of a load both those things will present in my daily life, to be honest. But because I was so driven and motivated to just make sure that Indian cricket stays on top, I didn't really pay attention to it. And that's precisely why by the time I left captaincy, I was completely spent. Like there was nothing left in the tank to give. And I was completely consumed by it. So, yes, it was gruesome,' Kohli said.
Balancing Personal Form and Team Results
Kohli also spoke about the constant pressure of balancing personal form with team results during his captaincy stint. 'It was difficult to manage expectations of, okay, if you win, you don't score runs, then, you're asked about your performances. And if you perform and you don't win, you're asked about the results. So I was always juggling between the two and trying to manage as best as I could,' Kohli said at the third edition of the RCB Innovation Lab's Indian Sports Summit on Tuesday.
Support from Dravid and Rathour
The 37-year-old also credited former India head coach Rahul Dravid and former batting coach Vikram Rathour for helping him during a difficult phase in Test cricket. After dominating Test cricket between 2016 and 2019, Kohli endured a lean run in 2021 and 2022, averaging 28.21 and 26.5 respectively. He bounced back in 2023 with 671 runs in eight Tests at an average of 55.91.
'Rahul bhai and Vikram Rathour. I've said this many times. I had a great run in Test Cricket in 2023. Whenever I see them, whenever I meet them, I always thank them from the bottom of my heart. Because they really took care of me in a way that made me feel like… 'I want to play for them. I want to perform. I want to go out there. I want to grind it out. I want to do the hard work for them'. Because they were so caring and nurturing. And they made me realise what I have done so far. Like, even if I go to the nets today, I feel at this stage, like these youngsters are watching. And if I have bad nets in the next session, they're going to be like… 'This is the guy who's been playing for 20 years'. So that's always at the back of your mind. Like, you have to keep up with your own standards,' Kohli added.
Kohli said both Dravid and Rathour understood the mental side of elite cricket and supported him during that period. 'So, they understood that. Because Rahul bhai, of course, has done that way better than a lot of people in Test Cricket at the highest level. Vikram Rathour has been around for so many years. So they understood what I was feeling. And they could relate to it. And they really took care of me mentally,' he said.
