Indian national team captain Virat Kohli on Thursday revealed the lowest point of his career in a tell-all Instagram Live chat with former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen.
In the highly anticipated interview, Kohli shared interesting anecdotes about his life, including the highs and lows of his fabled career.
Kohli said that the "lowest point of his career" came during India's tour of England in 2014 when he woke up "knowing he was going to fail."
"There is a time as a batsman when you know you will fail and you will not get runs. I used to wake up and know I would fail. It was the worst I have ever felt. It was tough. I promised myself that I will never allow me to let that happen to myself," he said, as reported by Hindustan Times.
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Having already established as the top batsman in the world, and leading a very strong Indian side, Kohli was the focus of the series. But he could manage only 134 runs in ten innings during the five-match Test series.
"It happened because I was so consumed about doing well from a personal point of view. I just felt I was in England and this was Test cricket and if I score runs here then I will establish myself. I was consumed by all that crap and that led to my downward spiral," Kohli confessed.
Kohli also tried to explain why Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have failed to win an Indian Premier League (IPL) title despite having some of the biggest players in their roster over the years.
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"With big players, we will always be in the focus. We have reached 3 finals, not won, but then, those things are irrelevant, until you win the title. Even with the best team, we have not won. There is a team goal, we deserve to win the title," Kohli said.
Kohli and Pietersen were teammates during at RCB during the 2009 and 2010 seasons, and they relived the camaraderie at the camp.
"You were always sitting next to the experienced players, always the inquisitive kinds," the former England captain said.
In reply, Kohli said "it was a great opportunity" for him "to learn from the big players."
"You [Pietersen] came in at the prime of your career. There were Kallis, Dravid and so many others. I wanted to learn and be the best of myself. If someone told me 12 years later these will be your number I would have told him to get lost," Kohli added.
The start of the 2020 edition of IPL has been postponed till April 15 in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.
In reply, Kohli said that India's "response has been good. Apart from a few people, you must have seen the video, who do not respect the guidelines. I don’t know how it can happen. I hope people get sense into them and follow the guidelines. There needs to be unity in dealing with this issue."
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The duo started with the all-important coronavirus pandemic, with KP slamming the UK governments for a lackadaisical approach to the crisis.
But Kohli hailed the Indian government's effort.
"Our response has been good, apart from a few people, who do not respect the guidelines. I don’t know how it can happen. I hope people get sense into them and follow the guidelines. There needs to be unity in dealing with this issue."
Pietersen had previously hosted India's limited-overs vice captain Rohit Sharma at a time all are indoors due to the 21-day lockdown in the country to battle coronavirus pandemic.
