Indian cricket team star batter Virat Kohli is well known for his mental resilience and his aggressive approach to the game on the field. Kohli has proven his mental toughness on multiple occasions but his former teammate Jagrit Anand provided a sneak peek into his mentality during his young days. Kohli was in sensational form during the 2005-06 Vijay Merchant Trophy for Delhi and he ended up scoring 757 runs at an average of 84.11. Anand revealed that although a coach tried to ‘pull him down’, Kohli was not affected and even promised to ‘beat the living hell’ out of the Punjab bowlers in their match.
“When we were playing Under-17, we had played two seasons – Virat had scored a double century and a couple of centuries in the previous season. Virat was a known name in the Delhi circuit. He was always outstanding. Now, when it came to the next season, there was a particular coach who was not too much in favour of Virat, so he was trying to pull him down in his own ways in spite of having that kind of record,” Anand, a former Delhi Ranji player and Head of Academies and ex-talent scout with Delhi Capitals, said on The Quiet Rise Podcast by Meha Bhardwaj Alter.
“Our first game was against Punjab in Patiala. It was Punjab’s home ground. Sidharth Kaul was one of their pacers, and another guy, Amanpreet… they were doing extremely well. They were the terror in the fast-bowling circuit. So all the odds were against us. Virat was always someone who, if you give a challenge, he would love it.
“Here I am talking about mental resilience. Before that match, we were just having a casual chat. We were talking about how this match is going to pan out. Now, this was a personal conversation that we guys had. He said, ‘I will beat the living hell out of these people,’ in his proper Delhi language. He scored a double century in that game. That season, he scored another double century, to go with three more hundreds, and that season, Delhi went on to win to become champions in the Vijay Merchant Trophy. So, you see, that kind of challenge. Imagine the coach has the authority in that age group, but that still did not stop someone like Virat.”
Kohli went on to slam 227 in the match against Punjab and followed it up with a 228 against Baroda. The star batter continued his brilliant run of form and in 2008, he ended up leading India to victory in the U-19 World Cup.