Virat Kohli walks back after getting dismissed.
Virat Kohli is in the 'happiest phase' of his life and the former India captain's poor form with the bat isn't bothering him. Kohli, one of the modern-day greats, is going through a lean patch and has managed just one half-century for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) this season.
''I'm actually in the happiest phase of my life. I am not finding any self-worth or value in what I do on the field. I'm way past that phase. This is a phase of evolution for me," Kohli told Star Sports.
Kohli has not scored a century in nearly three years and created an unwanted record to his name by scoring three golden ducks in this IPL. However, the former RCB skipper denied the fact that he is lacking the passion and drive for the game.
"Not to say that I don't have the same drive, my drive will never die down. The day my drive goes away, I'll not be playing this game,'' he said.
"But to understand that some things are not controllable, the only controllable you have are things that you can work towards, which is working hard on the field and in life as well and from that point of view, I feel that I am in the most balanced space that I have ever been and I am happy with who I am and how I am leading my life," the legendary batsman said.
He has all the batting records to his name but insisted that on-field success or failures have little space in his life.
"I am not finding any source of encouragement or disappointment by what happens on the field. So, this has not been about myself, this is about the fact that I have not contributed to my team's cause as much as I would have wanted to or I pride myself to, and that is something that always disappoints me, not what I do as an individual. It's because I don't want to let my team down,'' he said.
The lack of runs from the modern great has been a cause of concern for fans and experts, with few including former India head coach Ravi Shastri imploring the cricketer to take a break from the game.
Regarded as one of the most prolific batters in modern-day cricket, Kohli's last century in international cricket came way back in 2019.
Since then, he has mostly struggled, and his failure to inspire his teams to title triumphs culminated in him stepping down from RCB and India's T20 captaincy and losing the post in the Test team.
Speaking about his transition from a captain to a player, Kohli said, "To be honest, it's different. I won't say it's hard because it's something that you're involved in regularly. So, the good thing is that my relationship with Faf (current RCB skipper Faf du Plessis) has always been good. We also have a leadership group in the team where we all share our inputs," he said.
(Inputs PTI)
