The Kohli story

HOBART, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 28: Virat Kohli of India celebrates after hitting the winning runs during the One Day International match between India and Sri Lanka.

“Quitting is easy. Daring to triumph and succeed is hard.”

That’s what Anya told Arbit. Arbit had just suffered a setback when the results in his class were announced and he was not in the top 50. This would mean that he would not be eligible for the scholarship for this quarter. He was so confident before the results were announced that he had given up his part-time job as well.

He told Anya that this scholarship was his mother’s dream and he wanted it badly, but was tired now. Anya saw the deflated look on Arbit’s face and realized that unless something was done, Arbit would have to give up on a long-cherished goal. Arbit was one of the most intelligent and hard-working people in his class but of late, he had become a little too confident of his intelligence. He had always been in the top 10 but when he needed it the most, he did not perform well. What could Anya do? She feared Arbit would make a foolish mistake.

Suddenly, her memory struck her – and she remembered a video she had once watched. She said to Arbit that every now and then, we encounter failures, and the first thought that comes to our mind is, “I cannot do this anymore”. She continued:

“Let me tell you the story of a 17-year-old boy who, while playing his first Ranji Season, came to know that his father had just passed away. He had two options: either to lose hope and quit playing, or become even more resolute to live up to his father’s dream.

“He decided to go out with the goal of scoring a century and dedicating it to his father. Although he was wrongly given out just a few runs short of his 100, his quest for playing for the Indian cricket team didn’t stop. According to his mother, the demise of his father had turned this carefree boy into a mature person overnight.

“I have always maintained that when a person loses his fear of losing, he is at his most dangerous. That’s exactly what happened to this boy who – at the age of 18 – went on to captain the U-19 Indian team to the World Cup title. Then came the period when, in his own words, he failed in his mission. He went astray only to realize that this was not who he was. He had started missing his optional practice sessions and was dropped from the Indian side after his first one-day series. His coach and family tried to tell him that he was going in the wrong direction; but he didn’t listen to them. He was the hotshot of the country, touted as the next big thing of Indian cricket. But he was also being touted as another young gun who was going astray.

“And then he was dropped.

“That day, he realized something was really wrong. In his own words, ‘people close to me did try to steer me in the right direction, but until one himself is ready for change, no one can change him.’

“In a span of one year, he was back in the squad blazing guns – with his opponents still unaware of the true force with which they had been hit. He went on to play a major part in winning another World Cup – at the senior level, this time – and success was inevitable. He made his Test debut against West Indies and was, obviously, expected to do well.

“Sadly, he failed once again; and this time, people started doubting his abilities.

“So, should he have given up? “

Arbit: Yes, he should have given up. He was already successful in the other formats. Why try hard and face disappointment again?

Anya smirked at Arbit’s response.

“Do you know what this person did? He went back to his basics, analyzed where he was going wrong and worked on his technique only to make one of the strongest comebacks in Test match cricket. He returned to score not one, but two centuries and five fifties in 10 matches.”

“If you reach the top, you need to remain there and it needs a lot of character, grit and determination. What did it mean for Virat Kohli?

“I used to stay on the field as long as possible and come back home – and stay at home. I totally cut off from everything else that I was doing for one and a half years. It started to pay off in my cricket.”