Virat Kohli has been receiving tremendous praise ever since he took up the role of skipper for the Indian team. Former skipper of the England team, Nasser Hussain called Kohli the Cristiano Ronaldo of cricket. Pakistani cricketing legends including Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar lauded him for his immense dedication to fitness. Most recently, Kohli also became one of the 8 sportspersons picked to receive the Padma Shri award this year.
However, Virat Kohli has always maintained that he is not a one-man show and has stood firmly behind his teammates whenever needed.
After India’s recent T20 series win against England, a reporter questioned Kohli regarding his less than stellar performance. And Kohli delivered a polite but assertive reply.
In the past, Shikhar Dhawan faced a lot of flak from fans for not performing at par with expectations in Mohali against South Africa. Kohli strongly defended his teammate and asked urged people to stop being so harsh.
“When he gets going he will win you the game for sure.”
A while ago, R Ashwin received overwhelming praise for his record-breaking performance as a spinner. However, Harbhajan refused to give credit where its due and pointed out that the pitch conditions were in the spinner’s favour.
Sabr kar 3 and half day Mai bada waqt hai abhi.pitch already spinning a lot #tailormadeconditionsforspinners don't think NZ can bat for long https://t.co/445hfffjph
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 9, 2016
Only 2 in my 103 tests.. Kumble and my test wicket count would have been something else if we got wickets like last 4 years we playing on👊 https://t.co/fvkdVw1I1v
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 9, 2016
When Kohli heard about this, he was quick to come to the defence of his spinners.
“We believe in our skill much more, and not focus on creating atmosphere or conditions that might suit us partially.”
Apart from being an ethical sportsperson, Virat Kohli is also a gem of a human being. Just last year, he valiantly came to the defence of Anushka Sharma on Twitter when fans began to troll her.
Shame on people for trolling @AnushkaSharma non-stop. Have some compassion. She has always only given me positivity pic.twitter.com/OBIMA2EZKu
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) March 28, 2016
His tweet even became the Golden Tweet of 2016!
Virat Kohli has never let his pride get in the way of being an effective captain. He has been a strong pillar of support for all of his teammates and friends. In press conferences, on social media and at interviews, Kohli has always made one thing clear, teammates come before all else.
Now that’s one gem of a captain!