Virat Kohli had to be reminded of his departed father: Coach

Virat Kohli's childhood coach, Rajkumar Sharma reveals how the young gun had to be reminded of his departed father's dreams

Virat Kohli's childhood coach, Rajkumar Sharma reveals how the young gun had to be reminded of his departed father's dreams

"Iu00a0was determined to transform myself. I was getting a bit carried away off the field ufffd which was not good.
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But then, everyone around you let's you know about your ways. The word spreads, and you realise you've got to change. I had to decide for myself. No one can help you with such a decision." This is what Virat Kohli had to say on Wednesday after his 81 helped India get one step closer to winning the one-day series in the West Indies.


Virat Kohli plays a square drive against West Indies during the Twenty20
international at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad on June 4.
PIC/AFP

Kohli stressed that the decision to change was his. However, when MiD DAY spoke to his Delhi-based childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma yesterday, it seemed the dashing batsman was helped along the way.

"I made Virat realise that his father's ultimate dream was to see him play for India. As a child, he had come to my academy with a dream of playing for India. He was losing focus after successfully leading India to the U-19 World Cup title in 2007," recalled Sharma. It is learnt that it was Sharma, who urged Kohli to come out to bat for Delhi in a Ranji Trophy match a day after the batsman's father, Prem passed away in 2006.

Sharma, who is also a National Cricket Academy (NCA) Level B coach, admitted that sudden fame and money at just the start of his cricketing journey was too much for Kohli (22) to handle.

Pundits were not wrong when they brought up Kohli's brashness. He also tattooed his shoulder, something no senior India player has done. It made him look arrogant and the young cricketer struggled to come to terms with sudden influx of fame and big money, thanks to the Indian Premier League.

"It is a natural way for any 18-year-old to handle fame and money, and Virat was no different. The temptations were too much to handle for the youngster. It was easy to get carried away, which eventually happened," he added.

A few counseling sessions with Sharma worked too. "I told him that he was made for cricket and the sport is his life. One good thing about Virat is his self-confidence. He has great belief in his abilities which helped him focus back on his game.

"Before the West Indies tour, we chatted for a couple of days at my place. He appears hungrier than ever. There is no sign of tiredness in spite of playing so much of cricket," said the coach.

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