Virat Kohli.
Credit: PTI Photo
Bengaluru: "I've still got it, I guess," Virat Kohli said asserting his T20 credentials, unwilling to be just the megastar whose name is being 'attached to promoting the game' two months before cricket enters unchartered territory with the T20 World Cup in the USA.
Kohli, who is back after a two-month paternity break, scored a match-winning 77 off 49 balls for Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Monday night against Punjab Kings and deservedly walked away with the player of the match honours.
"I know my name is nowadays quite attached to just promoting the game in many parts of the world when it comes to T20 cricket. But, I've still got it, I guess," said the 35-year-old father of two in the post-match presentation.
The hallmark of Kohli's classy knock was the way he stepped out to dispatch the fast bowlers over the extra cover boundary.
The former India captain has nothing left to prove but he realises the need for constant evolution in T20 format.
His comments come in the backdrop of never-ending media speculation surrounding the team's composition for the big event to be jointly hosted by the USA and the West Indies starting June 1.
"Well I mean you have to (make additions to your game)," he said when asked about going aerial against the pacers on the off-side.
"People know I play the cover drive pretty well so they're not going to allow me to hit gaps and with guys like KG (Kagiso Rabada) and Arshdeep (Singh) as well, he's tall. So, I mean, if they're hitting length, you have to create some momentum in the ball," he said.
"And once you're closer to the ball, you kind of negate the bounce that's going to happen. You meet it earlier. So, I mean, you have to come up with a game plan here and there and try to keep improving your game," he explained at the post-match presentation.
It was surreal not to be recognised for two months.
Kohli had missed the five-match Test series against England as he was overseas for the birth of his second child. The long break allowed him to spend much needed quality time with his family and not being recognised on the streets was something that he enjoyed the most.
"We were not in the country. We were at a place where people were not recognising us. Just time together as a family, just to feel normal for two months. For me, for us as a family, it was a surreal experience. Of course, having two kids, things become totally different from a family perspective. So just the ability to be together, the connections that you make with your older child, it's amazing," he said.
"I mean, I couldn't have been more grateful to God for the opportunity that I got to spend time with my family," he said.
For Kohli, not being mobbed is a luxury and he loved every bit of his time away from the limelight.
"And yeah, just the place that we were in, I was telling the guys (RCB teammates) that when we came back, the voices back home felt that much louder," he said.
"I couldn't look up because I was just not used to being called my name for two months. And then immediately you hear these loud noises and then you're back in it all again. But it was beautiful. It's an amazing experience to just be another person on the road and not be recognised and just carry on about life that normally people would on a daily basis," he said.
Kohli is also forever grateful to the loyal and passionate RCB fans who keep backing the team that is yet to win the IPL.
"It's been going on for years and you know, people talk about a lot of other things when you play sport. The achievements, the stats, the numbers. Look at the end of the day when you look back you're not going to think of the numbers and the stats," he said.
"It's the memories that you create. Famously, Rahul bhai (India head coach) in the change room nowadays says exactly the same to us. When you play, you play your heart out because you're going to miss these times when you're with your friends in the change room playing in front of fans. So, the relationship that's happened organically over so many years it's something that I can never ever forget. Just the love and the appreciation and the backing I've received for so many years that's been amazing," Kohli added.