Virat Kohli dazzles at BCCI awards
At a time when Indian cricket is going through a tough phase off the field, Virat Kohli’s exuberance offers an assuring ray of hope that at least on the field, everything is all right.
At the BCCI awards night on Tuesday, Kohli, sporting a mohawk-like hairstyle, was his enthusiastic self while receiving the ‘Polly Umrigar’ award for being named the ‘Best Indian cricketer’ for the second time in his career. The prize carries little financial value for a man whose worth is currently around Rs 100 crore, but the 27-year-old values the respect that it brings.
“I can’t wait. Everyone is suited up. The shoes are shining. I can’t wait to get on the plane,” he chirped to emcee Harsha Bhogle while talking about the prospect of taking on the Aussies Down Under in the forthcoming ODI & T20 series.
Recounting a special year for himself, which saw him leading the Indian Test team with much success, Kohli revealed that it was the passion of the fans which inspired him to crack the match-wining hundred against Pakistan at Adelaide.
“It was special. The game against Pakistan was also our first in the World Cup, so it was massive. We hadn’t played well in the tri-series. I remember waking up the morning of the game and doing my preparation and opening the window of my room in Adelaide, and I see this bridge which connects the ground to the hotel and saw 3,000 people there with their musical instruments and flags and what not.
“It just hit me that I’ll be in the stadium in three hours playing in front of these people. I saw the frenzy there. That’s the fun of it. I challenged myself to go out there do the best I could, get big runs. I was able to do that and was happy about it.”
Kohli termed the start of his captaincy stint, which saw India go down 0-2 to Australia in a hard-fought series, as the ‘best time’ of his career till now.”From a team’s point of view, the start is important when you want to achieve something. What we were able to do as a squad in Australia was special for me, not just the way I performed, but the whole team.
“The kind of cricket we played… it’s probably the most special time of my life till now of my career, and it will remain so. I hope we can better that.”
The BCCI also awarded former India stumper Syed Kirmani with the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award.