Indian cricket team stars speak about self-belief and share their life stories

What’s the Story?

As the new Indian jersey was unveiled today, the Indian men and women cricket team stars namely MS Dhoni, captain Virat Kohli, and women’s T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur shared their thoughts on what challenges they faced in their life before becoming a cricketers and how their self-belief helped them achieve all the success that they have today.

India’s newly appointed limited overs captain and Test captain Virat Kohli spoke about what cricket taught him over his career.

“We have always been told to treat life and sport differently, which is very wrong. On the field, we are encouraged to take risks but then in life you need to be safe! It’s a huge gap that needs to be bridged. Cricket has taught me everything I know about life. I truly believe that sport helps shape your character as an individual; all you need is to believe in yourself. The self-belief that I learnt on the field makes me believe that I can accomplish anything on or off the field,” said Kohli.

The Indian women’s cricket team T20 captain spoke about how she was discouraged to play cricket and how she always played cricket with boys throughout her life.

“I started playing cricket with the boys and I loved the sport from the first time I held a bat. People didn’t want me to play cricket, they said you don’t have a future in it. Surrendering under pressure I attended a hockey camp but that just reinstated my love for cricket. I believed I could play for the Indian team one day; but first I needed to play in a women’s team to get noticed. The biggest struggle was to get 11 girls on the field to make a team; I remember even coaching the girls at every practice session.”

Former Indian captain MS Dhoni, who just recently stepped down as the captain of the ODI and T20I sides spoke about how the jersey is perfect for the modern day game.

The game has been evolving over the years and the need to have kits that are designed to suit the modern game has always been the priority for the team management and Nike. Features like the 4D quickness and Zero distractions will definitely help the team on the field.”

In case you didn’t know...

The Indian team will sport new jerseys when they lock horns with England in the ODI series scheduled to start on the 15th of this month, with the first match at the MCA stadium in Pune. The new kit was launched with the motto “ Self-Belief”, with top Indian players sharing their stories about the love for the game and their struggle to reach the top.

The heart of the matter

Harmanpreet Kaur, who was recently appointed as the T20 captain of the Indian women’s cricket team has been making news for all the right reasons lately. She became the first Indian cricketer to be signed by an overseas franchise, Sydney Thunder in the Women’s Big Bash League.

Virat Kohli, who had a fantastic 2016 was recently appointed as the captain of India’s limited overs sides after MS Dhoni stepped down from the role.

Meanwhile, Dhoni will be looking to regain his batting form when he plays under Kohli for the first time in his career.

What’s next?

The Indian team will walk out wearing the brand new uniform under the captaincy of Virat Kohli against England on Sunday at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune.

Sportskeeda’s take

It is extremely nice to see the men and women’s team sport the jerseys together and speak about how self-belief has helped them transform their careers. Harmanpreet and Virat have become role models for youngsters all over the country and their life stories are extremely motivating and will help a lot of youngsters get through the hardships they are facing in their lives.