(This story was first published on 31 May 2017 and has been republished from The Quint’s archives to mark the occasion of Virat Kohli’s 30th birthday on 5 November.)
After winning the Polly Umrigar Trophy for the third time in 2017, Indian captain Virat Kohli said something that was very simple yet emphatic.
“If I give my 120 percent everyday, no one has the right to question me,” he said on the podium after receiving the award for his amazing consistency in the previous year.
What makes this consistency even more special is that all his personal achievements were gathered while leading a young cricket side that’s trying to create its own legacy and history.
India’s Test series against Australia in 2017 was a classic example as there was a lot happening on and off the field. Post match drama, like the Steve Smith DRS incident, has the potential to drain everything out of a leader.
He just tries to give his best – as a son, brother, friend, cricketer, teammate, captain, brand ambassador, citizen of India – in every minute and day of his life, and expects the rest to fall in place.
There is no debating that 2017 wasn’t kind to Virat. From the highs of 2016 he had to overcome a very quiet Test series with the bat against Australia. He then injured his shoulder and after that, no matter how hard he tried, his IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore could not manage to get their campaign off the ground.
The last spot finish was a new low in Virat’s career.
So how does the young captain deal with these recent setbacks and lead the Indian side into one of the biggest tournament’ of his career?
Just like he has dealt with success…
All this sounds so easy and boring, but the beauty of Virat’s rise as a sportsperson is in his boring routines.
While there is a lot of discussion on the success of Virat, not many know about the process behind this success.
The Transformation
Somewhere around 2011-2012, Virat made some conscious and hard calls about the way he wanted to play his cricket and what all he wanted to change in his lifestyle to make that happen.
Since then, what I saw from very close quarters was Virat beautifully compartmentalise his life.
He fixed some goals, not in terms of how many runs he wanted to make or how many hundreds he wanted to get, but in terms of the amount of effort he needed to make, how much rest he needed, how much and what kind of food he needed to eat and how many weights he needed to lift.
Virat on an Off Day
On a typical non-match day, Virat would be at the breakfast table with an amazingly mundane and tasteless (keeping in mind that we Indians grow up on fried and spicy stuff) looking plate of food.
While seated at the table, he never rushed through his high protein and high fibre food.
During practice sessions, he would be the first one to be on the ground and the last one to leave.
On the surface it may appear like a routine, but in his mind he enters every session with specific targets. Often morning net practice is followed by well-deserved rest and gym session in the evening.
Leading by Example
On a match day, everything in Virat’s schedule would change according to the situation. But the intensity and sense of purpose remains the same, all the time.
After a long batting day where he scored 100 for his team, he would be the first one to pick up the ball and start a game of foot-volley.
During a match he is always alive and keeps the dressing room ticking, sometimes with a motivational speech or sometimes with a funny one-liner to relax the mood of the dressing room. He sets the tone of the team and sets the benchmark in terms of fitness, work ethic and performances. And now, everyone follows his template and good practices.
During India’s Test against England in Vizag in 2016, Virat bumped into Pakistan legend Saqlain Mushtaq who was working as a spin bowling consultant for the touring side. After spending the whole day at the ground, Saqlain was shocked to see Virat in the gym. He kept asking him where he gets his zeal and drive from, and said he wished some of the young Pakistani batsmen followed in his footsteps.
This is the kind of example Virat sets. His pursuit of greatness and the path to it is extremely unassuming. There isn’t anything fancy about it. His philosophy is very simple – keep doing your stuff, keep ticking your boxes and the rest will fall in place.
In a nutshell, he controls the controllable. He tries to control his system, his preparations and his training. Performances and results aren’t in his control. But if you follow the process, the rest should, more often than not, fall into place.
Everything around Virat and his lifestyle is amazingly boring. But in his case, boring is beautiful and boring is essential. He knows greatness is carved out of monotony.
(Nishant Arora is an award-winning cricket journalist, and most recently, the media manager of the Indian Cricket Team. He also co-authored the best-selling book on Yuvraj Singh’s battle with cancer.)
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