Virat Kohli's Honest "At This Stage Of My Career" Confession After Record-Breaking Century vs West Indies

Emphasising on fitness, Virat Kohli said being fit helps him in visualising his game.© AFP

Virat Kohli's 15,000-run ODI milestone may have put him in an elite club alongside Sachin Tendulkar, but the star batter insisted personal landmarks have never been his focus as he underlined his enduring hunger to "up the ante" for the team. Kohli became only the second batter in history, after the legendary Tendulkar, to complete 15,000 runs in ODI cricket. He hit a record-extending 55th ton in the format to help India win the first match against the West Indies here on Sunday.

"My focus has never really been on these milestones, so to say. It's just understanding the situation along the course of just doing the job for the team, (the) achievements come along," Kohli told the broadcaster after the match.

Kohli smashed nine sixes and 10 fours to make 139 not out off only 88 ball as India scored 300 for two in 41.4 overs in reply to the West Indies' 295 for seven.

"Obviously, I feel very grateful and very blessed to be in this position for having played for so long. Just keeping my head down, working hard and thanking God for everything that I've been blessed with and the opportunities that I've got in my life to be where I am," Kohli said.

"We have a very blessed life and a blessed journey because so many people want to be here, but we get to be the lucky ones, so we better put our head down and just work hard every day of our lives," he added.

Kohli said that upping the ante to be more aggressive while batting has been a challenge for him.

"… just the understanding of your game, firstly. Also, at the stage that I'm at, just keeping myself physically very fit because the game's more or less in the mind. I've never been a guy who practised a lot even when I was playing all three formats as you know," he replied to a query from former India coach Ravi Shastri.

"For me it's about about staying mentally fresh, staying in the present moment and just expressing myself really out there to play in a certain way, get used to this template more often."

"I got a challenge at this stage of my career to kind of up the ante and play a gear or two higher and yeah, that was exciting for me to work on."

He continued, "Again, it excites you when you have to unlock a new version at this stage of your career, which will eventually help any team that you play for, be it playing for India or in the IPL. It's really helped me a lot to play with a free mind and I think that's what's working for me."

Emphasising on fitness, Kohli said being fit helps him in visualising his game.

"I think to follow a free mind, you need a fit body so for me, it works the other way around. I stay physically fit and then I'm able to visualise the game in the way that I want to play, which allows me the best chance to go out there and execute in the way that I did tonight," he said.

Kohli said it was important to remember where a cricketer is coming from and not get caught up in the daily routines which may be a distraction.

"I think the only thing we need to do is just look back once and where we came from. That's something that we tend to forget when we are caught up with the hustle of the world and the positions we get into with so much attention and fame and so much love from the fans" he said.

"It can be very easy to forget where you came from. But just looking back at the journey from when you started as a child just makes you feel grateful."

Kohli added, "I enjoy each and every minute that I'm out there playing for India because I understand that, as I said I could have been a possibility that I wouldn't be standing here. I wouldn't have played for India at all."

The 37-year-old said having clarity at this stage, in which he plays in only one format for India, is also a factor behind his success.

"We are a year away from the World Cup. I know what my goal is and it's pretty clear for me that whatever games we get, I just need to keep working on different aspects of the game, keep myself physically fit, challenge myself to be out there."

"… run from boundary to boundary in the last 15 overs if I can, field in the inner ring, show intensity. If I keep ticking all those boxes, I've got some time left to play in this format as well."

"So when I get an opportunity, I feel happy rather than feeling anxiety or pressure to make the most of it. I just want to express myself and play my game. As I said, I promised myself I'm going to play positively because I can."

"I'm going to continue to play like that but not be reckless. There's a fine line, which as a professional, as an experienced player, I should have the ability to execute in this way without playing reckless shots and get the team through," he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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