Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Virat Kohli, one of cricket’s greatest batters, was at his frank best when addressing at the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit.
Kohli spoke extensively during the session conducted by former England cricketer Isa Guha. Notably, the Indian cricket legend stated how India could emerge as a big athletic force in the next years.
“We are working to make India a Sport-Forward Nation by 2036. As I previously stated, we have a vision and the groundwork is being laid now. I believe that everyone concerned bears a common duty. Not just the infrastructure, not just the people who will invest the money, not just the athletes, but also those who wish to learn about the sport. We don’t need the celebrations and fanaticism; we need sports education,” Kohli explained.
“Sport education is also very important to us as a country. He went on to say that if sports education is implemented, the experience will be ten times better than it is now, and it will be a significant step towards us being a Sports-Forward Nation.
Kohli, who made his international debut in 2008, is the one who set the example when discussions about a fitter Indian cricket squad arose. When asked what shifted the needle for him, the former captain shared his self-realization moment and how an athlete should properly prepare for the long term. Interestingly, he also mentioned how he got up on the path to change. The Indian batting legend explained that this was due to some difficult overseas travels with Team India.
“I realized I needed to adjust the way I prepared as an athlete. Then, starting the next day, I changed everything about my nutrition and workout. Motivation comes from within. No one had to make me do it. But I believe the buildup to that occurred during a couple of extremely challenging international tours. And I realized that the reason we were falling short was because the other team was physically far more fit than us,” the former Indian captain revealed.
‘It has to be a collaborative sports culture,’ says Virat Kohli on closing the gap between cricket and other sports.
While India is currently an unrivaled cricketing powerhouse, Kohli is optimistic that other sports will narrow the gap sooner rather than later. He asserted that once the infrastructure is in place, it is the intent of the athlete that is most important.
“I always felt like if I don’t set my bar that high, I will not be able to push myself beyond my limits, so I want to be the best and then all the answers will come to me from that point and that ended up being the case,” he commented.
“It is important to have conversations around sports. What are the rules? What do the athletes go through? It has to be a progressive project which helps all sports. It has to be a collective sports culture that includes everyone. And women’s sport is a massive part of it. And we have so much talent in the women’s sports, not just cricket, but all the other sports here,” Kohli concluded while answering about what he thought of other sports’s probable future course.
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