Former India and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has been going through a tough phase with the bat. While he said he had never gone through such a phase where he had more than one golden duck in the IPL, Kohli also had a laugh at himself.
"First-ball ducks. After the second one (duck), I actually realised what It feels like to be like you (Mr Nags character), absolutely helpless. It hasn’t happened to me ever in my career, I think. I have seen everything now. It’s been so long, I have seen everything in this game," Kohli said during his light-hearted conversation with Danish Sait for RCB Insider.
Kohli bagged only 3 first-ball ducks but as many as three have come this season - two against Sunrisers Hyderabad and one against Lucknow Super Giants. In all the years of the IPL so far, Kohli has been out for only 6 golden ducks.
Speaking about how he handles the critics and experts, the master batter said he keeps the TV on mute. Kohli has managed just 194 runs in 12 matches so far at an average of 19.64.
"They can’t be in my shoes. They can’t feel what I feel. They can’t live my life. They can’t live those moments. How do you cut out the noise? You either mute the TV or don’t pay attention to what people are saying. I do both those things," Kohli added.
Liberating to Not Be Recognised
Kohli, who has always played for the RCB side in the IPL, also recounted an incident from Bangalore where no one recognised him at the famous Thom’s Bakery. This was during the India-Sri Lanka Test in Bangalore.
“It was the third day when the test match got over,” Kohli explained and added that he wanted to get something for his wife Anushka Sharma, who had grown up in Bangalore.
“Anushka has almost literally grown up in Bangalore and literally almost so many friends and so many memories from here. She loves Thom's bakery. As soon as we got back to the hotel, I thought, you know what? Anushka loves the puffs there. That's her most favourite thing to eat in Bangalore,” Kohli continued.
“I walked into Thom's bakery and I told the security to sit in the car. I had a mask on and I had a cap on and it was the best possible way to experience some normalcy and I promise you nobody noticed me at all, it was such a liberating feeling,” Kohli narrated.
“People were buying their stuff and I got there. I went to the counter and that's when I actually got nervous. I had my credit card, I did not have cash.”
“I gave the guy my credit card and I thought, this is it, now I am gone. I actually had my security’s number on my phone ready to dial if something happens.”
“That's when I realised the fame of that bakery. The guy there was so busy with his work, he did not care whose credit card it was. He swiped it, I signed it, I gave him the receipt, he stamped it and he did not even read who's name was written on it. I was like, wow, this was amazing, nobody recognised me at all,” he signed off.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)