Five Things Virat Kohli Taught US in 2022

Virat Kohli is arguably one of the greatest batters to ever play the game. The 24-year-old has scripted several records with his bat, due to which he is regarded among the Greatest of All Time.

Former Indian skipper had a topsy-turvy ride in the year 2022, as the year started with an unprecedented sacking from captaincy, followed by a couple of shocking ducks in IPL and few went on to ‘doubt’ the batter’s ability and zeal to score runs.  

However, the legendary batter did what he does best as he enabled his beast mode when it was needed the most. Asia Cup 2022 and T20 World Cup 2022 brought the best out of the batter, and let us all enjoy his run-machine avatar after a long gap of a few years. While Virat had a dream comeback at the international set-up, we look back at five learnings from Virat Kohli’s journey in 2022.

It’s okay to Give UP:

The 34-year-old started the year by giving up captaincy in Test captaincy, and was later sacked from the 50-over captaincy. For a brief period of time, Virat was logging heads with the then BCCI president Sourav Ganguly. But soon the batter realised his priorities and moved ahead with his game.

Important to Accept Failures:

 “First-ball ducks. After the second one, I actually realised what it feels like to be like you (Mr Nags character), absolutely helpless. It has not happened to me ever in my career, I think. That’s why I smiled because I felt like I have seen everything now. It’s been so long, I have seen everything this game has to show,” Virat Kohli said.

Take a Break and Step Back:

“For the first time in 10 years, I didn’t touch my bat for a month. I came to realize that I was trying to fake my intensity a bit recently. I was convincing myself that no, you had the intensity. But your body was telling you to stop. The mind was telling me to take a break and step back,” Kohli said in a video post on Star Sports.

Acknowledge the people who support during tough times:

“I know there was a lot of stuff going on outside. And I kissed my ring. You see me standing here because one person has put things in perspective for me. That’s Anushka. This hundred is for her and for our little daughter Vamika as well. When you have someone next to you having conversations putting things in perspective, like Anushka has been,” Kohli said after scoring his first hundred in 1020 days during Asia Cup 2022.

Make most of the good times:

Asia Cup 2022 gave a glimpse of old Virat aka run-machine, and T20 World Cup 2022 stamped his authority as a match-winner once again. Kohli smashed his maiden T20I century and 71^st International century when he scored unbeaten 122 in the Asia Cup Super-4, against Afghanistan. He added two more half-centuries in the continental tournament.

However, Virat’s best in the year was yet to come. It was a high-profile match against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022 opener when he played a historic knock of unbeaten 82 off 53 deliveries. The Indian batter finished as the highest run-scorer in the competition with 296 runs to his name, at a sensational average of 98.66.

Thank you, Virat Kohli, for all the memories and special knocks, but just like you even we know that there is more to come from your bat. May you shine brighter than ever.