The skipper on his cars and choices

Virat Kohli, captain of the Indian cricket team, sits down with Audi in a freewheeling conversation. A self-confessed car enthusiast that he is, Kohli shares never-heard-before anecdotes from his early days, reminiscing his earliest memories of being at the wheel of an Audi, describing the passion and craze that he harbours for driving, and also divulging an alternative career he would have chosen, if not for the game of cricket.

Read the full interview below:

Q: What is the one silly thing you did with your friends recently?

Virat: Um, silliest thing? I mean, they all do silly things all the time. There’s hardly any time when they do sensible things. I would have to sit down and think of the time they did something sensible because actually, on a daily basis, they are just talking about all the funny things and all the nonsensical things that happen all around and they hardly talk anything which is constructive or something that makes any sense.

So, I can’t pinpoint anything. They are all very silly and I think we should get them to do a video as well to get some sensible things out of them because I don’t think they have anything sensible to talk about so that will be a new thing for them.

Q: What’s your favourite car memory?

Virat: I remember one which is quite funny. I took my sister out in my R8, which I had just got back in 2012. She didn’t understand the power of the car. We went to a longish sort of a road and it was clear for me to step on the gas and really feel that pull of the car, and I told her it’s going to be a little bit different from what she has experienced before in a car.

She wasn’t taking me seriously until I actually stepped on the gas, and I still remember her saying “I felt like everything is moving in my stomach,” and she was almost crying. That was her reaction to it, and I still remember I couldn’t stop laughing because she couldn’t control what she was feeling, and she had tears in her eyes after that because she felt all that force of the car pulling through.

That, for me, is the best car memory that I have.

Q: If you would want to pick another profession other than cricket, what would it be?

Virat: Profession other than cricket? I don’t know. Maybe, I would be a stylist. I like looking for good clothes and I like combining clothes in my own head.

I have understood, over the years, what would look good with a particular piece of clothing. Tops and trousers and jeans - combining all of them with jackets and stuff like that. So, I have a fair idea of that, so maybe, I would try my hand at being a stylist.

Q: What is your guilty pleasure as long as a car is concerned?

Virat: The basic idea in finding any kind of pleasure while driving a car now, is just being able to drive it in the city back home, to just look for a window where it's not going to be that hectic and you can just enjoy the drive and listen to good music.

That’s the most basic things are what I crave for now, as you don’t really get to drive in your hectic time of the day. Plus, you also have a chance of people recognizing you, that also plays on your mind.

Just to be able to go on a normal drive, which is longer than your usual travel distance, just to enjoy and feel the car, and just really relax. I think that’s quite really relaxing, that particular activity. So that’s basically what I look for.

The most sought-after man in Indian cricket, and a massive brand in himself, Virat Kohli has been a long-standing admirer of Audi. As his cricketing stature has grown into mammoth proportions over the years, Kohli has steadily forged a strong relationship with Audi, signing an endorsement deal with the company in 2015. Much like Kohli’s quest for excellence in cricket, Audi continues to build on its reputation of being the unchallenged benchmark in top-class car-making.

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