"He might come across differently to the world" - When an Indian legend shed light on Virat Kohli's much-debated personality

Former India captain Virat Kohli is often perceived as an aggressive player on the field. He wears his emotions on his sleeves and doesn't shy away from giving it back to the opposition players.

However, legendary captain MS Dhoni had a different opinion when Kohli was new to international cricket. The wicketkeeper-batter saw the Delhi batter as a ‘humble guy’ but noted that the world might see him differently, seemingly pointing towards the exuberance of youth in his early years.

In an old interview in 2010, Dhoni said during a tri-nation ODI tournament, which involved Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (via ESPNcricinfo):

"He has grabbed his chances. It's important for him to be himself. You have to show off what you are and he has matured now. To us, he comes as a humble guy. He might come across differently to the world."

Dhoni stressed that the most important thing for Virat Kohli was to be a better batter before being a ‘good human being’. He said in the same interaction:

"Being a good human being is important but it can come later, what's important now is that he [Kohli] scores on the field. He is an aggressive lad and it's important for him to be himself - you have to show off what you are. The good thing is, he is learning to bat long innings and through pressure situations," he added.

Over the years, Virat Kohli has lived up to the billing, emerging as one of the biggest cricketers of the modern era. On Sunday, February 23, the 36-year-old added a plethora of records to his name after his 82nd international ton. The right-handed batter scored an unbeaten 100 off 111 to take India over the line against Pakistan in a 2025 Champions Trophy league game.

Besides batting, Kohli’s aggressive mindset helped him become India’s most successful Test captain with 40 wins in 68 Tests, including 13 draws. Dhoni is the second-best with 27 victories in 60 Tests.

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“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better 50-over player than Virat Kohli” – Ricky Ponting

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting recently lauded Virat Kohli following his 51st ODI international ton that came against Pakistan. The two-time ODI World Cup-winning captain told the ICC:

“He's obviously been a champion player for a long, long time. And particularly in the white-ball formats, where he's been an unbelievably good 50-over player. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better 50-over player than Virat Kohli."

"Now that he's gone past me and only two ahead of him, I'm sure he would want to give himself the best chance to be remembered as the all-time leading run scorer in the game,” Ponting added.

Virat Kohli (27,503) eclipsed Ponting (27,483) for the third most runs in international cricket during his hundred against Pakistan. He is now only behind Sachin Tendulkar (34,357) and Kumar Sangakkara (28,016) in the list of leading run-getters across formats.