RIGHT TIME, RIGHT PLACE

Virat Kohli on living in the moment

Time can be a great leveller. Nobody in India knows it better than sportspeople whose performances determine their fame. If you happen to be a player in the Indian cricket team, then there’s hardly a moment of peace. Virat Kohli, Team India captain in all formats, is conscious of it. Every innings is critiqued, every match lost draws criticism and every international tour is a test of epic proportions. But Kohli has never let pressure get to him. Instead he has dominated the game with stellar, memorable performances.

Kohli is not one to rest on his laurels. “I don’t believe in living in the past,” he says “But I always go back to know where I come from.” His is a quest to be remembered and treasured. Off field too he has registered an impact, creating a new image of an Indian sportsman — tattooed, wearing his aggression on his sleeves and brazen in his demeanour. Bring It On may as well be his motto.

On the personal front too things couldn’t get any better. Recently married to Anushka Sharma, a popular Bollywood actress, Kohli knows the significance of balancing time. He has taken time off from the triangular series in Sri Lanka, after winning the T20 and ODI series in South Africa. It’s too early to say how the future will remember Kohli for he has many more years in the game but it’s easy to predict that his name will factor in the history books. As an ambassador for watch brand Tissot, Kohli speaks about time and memory.

When did you get your first watch?

I was about eight and I’d wear it every day.

What’s your earliest, fondest memory?

As a child my most favourite time of the year would be the summer holidays. To be able to come home after the last exam and have that sense of freedom and satisfaction was great. I used to come home and lie on the concrete floor just enjoying being at home in peak summer time.

What’s your idea of a good time?

It can be anything. So long as you are connected to doing it, then it will be a good time. Every day is a blessing; to be able to live a good life. Bein healthy on a daily basis gives me happiness.

Do you have a watch that’s dear to you?

A very special watch is coming soon. It is customised by Tissot and while it’s still under wraps I’m very ex- cited because for the first time it is being done for me. As captain you are required to take crucial decisions in a very short span of time. What helps you prepare for these moments? Things are really simple. I do nothing. There’s no magic to it. The problem is that people are looking for things on the outside. I only speak to myself. I am comfortable with who I am. You have to be in sync with yourself and the energy around you. I know my intention is not wrong. When I take decisions I don’t think twice. As long as your intentions are good and you are sticking by the right thing, nothing bad can happen. I go by my gut and it’s important to blindly follow it for it never goes wrong.

How do you deal with pressure?

I don’t feel any pressure. I want to deliver for my team. People watch us and celebrate what we do but if I start thinking about what people want me to do I won’t be able to breathe. I leave nothing to question and am absolutely committed to my sport. I make sure I am in the right frame of mind to deliver for my team. There is a circle that you create and only the people who matter in the system are in it. If I start thinking outside of it, I will be wasting my energy.

Does your past influence you today?

I have learned a lot through my mistakes. One realises how important those mistakes were because you cannot understand what’s wrong or right unless you get exposure. You have to take ownership of your mistakes and that’s something that I always do.

If you could give a Tissot to someone in the dressing room, who would it be?

To K Rahul and Akshar Patel. They are always late.

It’s an expensive watch so you better give it someone who will value it.

If one of the younger guys in the team likes one of the watches I am wearing, I give it to them. I would give a watch to Yuzvendra Chahal. He is a bit aloof so he needs to get on the bus in time.

And who is the most punctual?

Ajinkya [Rahane]. Jinx is always ten minutes before the bus has to leave and he will be the only person sitting in the bus before anyone else.