The Worst Setbacks Have Improved Me as a Person: Virat Kohli

As the Indian team prepares for their tour to West Indies, Indian captain Virat Kohli reflected on a tournament where he felt his side deserved more, but also spoke philosophically about what it takes to bounce back from the disappointment of a World Cup semi-final exit.

“I have learnt most in my life from failures and setbacks. The worst setbacks have not only motivated me but also improved me as a person, made me understand the importance of those times more than the success,” he told TOI in an interview.

“Most importantly, it builds your character because suddenly this thing happens. When your belief is right up there and everyone's playing so well, and suddenly, you know, you've been outplayed. It's very difficult to digest because you know you didn't make many mistakes to be knocked out.

“When you make mistakes, you can point them out and take ownership of that but when you have been outplayed then the acceptance becomes difficult. You wake up and think you didn't do much wrong but we are still out.”

Kohli also spoke openly about how he admires the young breed of cricketers like Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, saying that exposure to tournaments like the IPL means that they are more confident than what he was at their age.

“To see the number of people coming up and ready with match-winning abilities is something that hasn't happened a lot that consistently in the past.

“They (the young players) are amazing. The level of confidence that they have is amazing to see. As I have mentioned so many times before, at 19-20, we were not even half the players these guys are. Skills have developed because of exposure to tournaments like the IPL. It's the best thing that can happen to a cricketer.

“They are so confident by the time they come here that they learn very quickly from their mistakes because they have already played in front of so many people. But the intent has to be that 'I am using this platform to play for my country'. And I think that these guys are in that zone.”

Finally, Kohli spoke about what it means for cricket to have a format like the World Test Championship, expressing optimism of it being the “right” thing for Test Cricket.

“It's very exciting. I think it's happening at the right time for Test cricket. Although you are going to play bilateral series, the meaning and importance are way more. You have to plan for every series. I was excited about something of this sort and now it's coming to life,” Kohli said.